Freeport held its first Maine Oyster Festival last year. Photo courtesy of Maine Oyster Festival
Summer in Maine passes too quickly to not squeeze in every last bit of fun. Get out your calendar and take some notes, because there’s a lot to catch this season – summer concerts, community festivals, classic auto shows and human pyramids on waterskis. Bid on art, run a 5K, learn to salsa, do downward dog on a paddleboard or compete in oyster shucking – whatever you choose, enjoy it!
For more summer events, check out our events calendar. Add your event to our calendar here.
JUNE 18
York Auto Show
York High School, 1 Robert Stevens Drive, York, yorkautoshow.com
Where better to celebrate Father’s Day than at the York Auto Show, one of the biggest auto shows in New England, featuring antiques, classic cars from the 1950s-’70s, hot rods, Euro Sports, trucks and motorcycles? General admission is $5; free for kids under 12. Gates open at 8 a.m.
The La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Heritage Festival in 2018. Dina Mendros/Journal Tribune
JUNE 22-25
La Kermesse
St. Louis Field (John F. Kennedy School), Biddeford, lakermessefestival.com
Biddeford’s 40th annual Franco-Americaine festival includes a cruisin’ night car show, a parade, rides, live music and ladies’ ax-throwing competitions. And, yes, there will be poutine!
JUNE 24-25
The Maine Oyster Festival
Freeport, visitfreeport.com
Experience shucking contests, oyster farm tours, an art show celebrating the working waterfront and, of course, food vendors. Live music on the L.L. Bean Discovery Park Stage includes Eileen Rose, Juke Joint Devils, Schooner Fare and Shank Painters. Festival admission is free; tickets for the June 23 kickoff party at Freeport Oyster Bar are by donation and benefit the Sea Meadow Marine Foundation.
JUNE 24
South Berwick Strawberry Festival
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Central School grounds, South Berwick, southberwickstrawberryfestival.org
Thousands of strawberry shortcakes are served each year at this one-day festival that showcases regional craftsmen and performers. Free admission.
Alison Hill finishes up her painting of Portland Headlight for Cape Elizabeth Land Trust’s Paint for Preservation fundraiser in 2021. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
JUNE 25
Plein Air Paint for Preservation
4-7:30 p.m., Cape Elizabeth, capelandtrust.org/paint
Plein air artists come to Cape Elizabeth for a weekend of painting the town’s iconic land- and seascapes, culminating in a Sunday afternoon auction at a seaside home to benefit Cape Elizabeth Land Trust. Tickets are $100 and available online.
JUNE 27
“Imagine: The Beatles Solo Years”
7 p.m., Seaside Pavilion, 8 Sixth St., Old Orchard Beach, seasidepavilion.org
From the creative team behind the hit orchestral Pops show “Piano Men, the music of Elton and Billy” and “Classic Rock,” Joe Boucher’s “Imagine” brings together the solo hits of the individual Beatles as they might have sounded if they had continued together. Tickets are $25-$35.
JUNE 30
Salsa with Primo Cubano
5-8 p.m., Congress Square Park, Portland, congresssquarepark.org
Get in on a quick salsa lesson with PM Salsa at 5 p.m., followed by an opportunity to dance along with local band Primo Cubano. Free.
JULY 3
Maine Attraction Waterski Show
6:30 p.m., Number One Pond, Sanford, maineattractionwaterski.com
Maine Attraction competitive waterski team puts on a show every Thursday night in July, showing off traditional and barefoot waterskiing, human pyramids and jumps. The July 3 show is followed by fireworks. Free. Bring your own chairs.
The Neal Dow House on Congress Street in Portland was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. Dow was known as the Father of Prohibition and was also a Civil War general, a slavery abolitionist and supported women’s suffrage. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
JULY 4
Old Port 4th of July Historic Walking Tour
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monument Square, Portland, oldporthistorictours.com
Did you know that Portland’s Great Fire of 1866 started on the Fourth of July? Get a crash course in Portland history on this 2½-hour walking tour with insights on everything from the Underground Railroad and Prohibition to the working waterfront and craft breweries.
JULY 5 and 7
OperaMaine’s “Rocking Horse Winner”
7:30 p.m., Westbrook Performing Arts Center, 471 Stroudwater St., operamaine.org
An opera about a young man with autism and his emotionally distant mother, based on the short story by D.H. Lawrence. Sung in English. Tickets are $35, free for students.
JUNE 28 to JULY 15
“Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story”
Maine State Music Theatre, 22 Elm St., Brunswick, msmt.org
This entertaining rock show recounts Buddy Holly’s 18-month meteoric rise to fame and the indelible impact he left on rock ‘n’ roll after he died at just 22. Includes more than 20 hits, including “Peggy Sue,” “That’ll Be the Day” and “Maybe Baby.”
JULY 13
U2 Tribute at Vallée Square
7 p.m., Westbrook near the Riverwalk, downtownwestbrook.com
If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, this U2 tribute concert at Vallée Square might be just the thing. Free.
JULY 13-15
Sebago Days
3-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, behind Sebago Elementary School, 283 Sebago Road, sebagodays.com
This small-town festival in the Lakes Region includes a 5K run/walk, cornhole tournament, music performances and a talent show, a car show, parade, rides and fireworks.
JULY 14
Brownstone Brews & Bites
5:30-8:30 p.m., 109 Danforth St., Portland, victoriamansion.org
Enjoy live music by the Pete Kilpatrick Band and samples of Allagash beer as well as Cellardoor wine and Green Bee soda on the lawn of the historic Victoria Mansion. Tickets are $48 ($40 for Victoria Mansion members).
Tour the town’s most beautiful gardens at Brunswick in Bloom. Photo courtesy of Brunswick in Bloom
JULY 15
Brunswick in Bloom
10 a.m., private homes in Brunswick, brunswickinbloom.org/tickets
Tour some of Brunswick’s most interesting and colorful gardens, followed by a garden party with tea, lemonade and light snacks. Tickets are $35 online and benefit Oasis Free Clinics’ medical, dental and prescription assistance services for uninsured and low-income Mainers.
JULY 21
Classic Rock Orchestra
8 p.m., Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, 53 Old Post Road, Arundel, vinhillmusic.com
Orchestra renditions of the greatest rock anthems of the ’70s and ’80s, featuring songs by Journey, Heart, Kansas, Pat Benetar, Boston, Stevie Nicks, Toto and more. Tickets are $50-$55.
Shucking contest at the Yarmouth Clam Festival. Photo by Mike Leonard
JULY 21-23
Yarmouth Clam Festival
Downtown Yarmouth, clamfestival.com
Highlights of Yarmouth’s summer festival include the Maine State Clam Shucking Contest, a Diaper Derby, a car show, a parade, a road race and a kids’ fun run, concerts, rides, crafts and vendors. Nonprofits, churches and school groups serve clams, lobster rolls, shore dinners, pancakes, pies, strawberry shortcake and Lime Rickeys. To get there, go toward Main Street and follow the signs.
Yoga instructor Ashley Flowers leads a yoga class on paddleboards off East End Beach in Portland during the 2022 Maine YogaFest. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
JULY 28-30
Maine YogaFest
East End Community School, 195 North St., Portland, maineyogafest.com
Three blissful days of yoga every which way, plus workshops, live music, healthy food and yoga-related vendors.
JULY 28
North Woods Throw Down
6 p.m. (gates open 4 p.m.), Hadlock Field, Portland, porttix.com
The Maine Game Wardens play softball against the New Hampshire Conservation Officers. Fans of the Animal Planet show “North Woods Law” may recognize some of the players. Tickets are $10 per person with the option to add on a T-shirt.
JULY 29
Woofstock
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Animal Welfare Society, 46 Holland Road, Kennebunk, animalwelfaresociety.org
A family- and dog-friendly day of live music, food trucks, local craft brews, dog agility courses and kids activities. Free admission.
AUG. 5
Wavy Days Beer Fest
Noon to 4 p.m., Thompson’s Point, Portland, mastlandingbrewing.com
An afternoon beside the Fore River with 50 guest breweries from across the nation pouring their best. Several popular food trucks will be there, too, including The Highroller Lobster Co., Falafel Mafia, Mami, Tacos del Seoul and Betty Reez Whoopiez. General admission tickets are $75 on eventbrite.com ($10 for designated drivers).
Circus Smirkus is coming to Payson Park in Portland. Photo courtesy of Circus Smirkus
AUG. 7 and 8
Circus Smirkus: A Midsummer’s Night Circus
1 and 6 p.m., Payson Park, Portland, portlandovations.org
Popcorn, cotton candy and exquisite acrobatics. A cast of 30 talented circus performers from across the nation get entangled in dreamlike woods where sprites contort in the trees and fairies fly through the air in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy “A Midsummer’s Night Dream.” Tickets are $35 for teens/adults, $20 for kids.
AUG. 11 and 12
Classic Boat Parades
Naples Causeway
It’s a car, it’s a boat … it’s an “amphicar” demonstration on the Naples Causeway Marina (5-7 p.m. Friday), followed by a vintage watercraft parade traveling from Brandy Pond, under the bridge and along the Causeway to the town dock area. Come back Saturday for a classic boat show (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.). Free.
The midway and rides at the Topsham Fair. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
AUG. 8-13
Topsham Fair
32 Community Way, Topsham, topshamfair.net
An agricultural fair with all the fixins: harness racing, pig scrambles, truck pulling, demolition derby, baking contests, animal exhibits, midway rides and games, live music and food vendors.
AUG. 12
Woodies in the Cove
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., 974 Post Road, Wells, wellsogunquithistory.org
Collectors of woodies – wood-bodied automobiles – gather in Wells each summer for this unique car show hosted by the Historical Society of Ogunquit and Wells. Admission is free for spectators. Don’t miss the parade at 2 p.m. through Wells and Ogunquit and into Perkins Cove.
Bagpipe players and drummers marching in the opening ceremony at the 42nd Maine Highland Games in Brunswick in 2021. C. Thacher Carter/The Times Record
AUG. 19
Maine Highland Games and Scottish Festival
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thomas Point Beach, Brunswick, mainehighlandgames.org
If your idea of athletics is tossing sticks the size of telephone poles, Maine Highland Games is the place to be. Come prepared for full day of pipe bands and harps, traditional dancing, shopping, eating and drinking. Tickets are $25-30, $5 for kids.
AUG. 19
Art by the Sea Gala
5-9 p.m., Ogunquit Museum of American Art, 543 Shore Road, Ogunquit, ogunquitmuseum.org
The Ogunquit Museum of American Art is throwing itself a swanky 70th birthday party on the lawn. Live and silent auctions, hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, ocean breezes and cake. $200 per person.
AUG. 24 to SEPT. 23
“The Da Vinci Code”
Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main St., Ogunquit, ogunquitplayhouse.org
If you’re one of the hundreds of millions of people who read Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” relive the mystery in this first-time-in-America theatrical production, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel.
AUG. 26
Water Lantern Festival
5-9 p.m., Bug Light Park, South Portland, waterlanternfestival.com/portland-me.php
Witness the magic of lanterns as they light up the water beside Bug Light at this festival with music and food trucks. Tickets (available online for $27-$56) include a floating lantern kit and cover water clean-up costs.
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