Maine Oyster Festival

Schedule:

6:30 am – 8 pm: Stop by Bow Street Market where local oysters, shuckers and accoutrements are available to purchase to enjoy at home! The wine, beer, and spirit department is not to be missed, housing one of Maine’s most varied and expertly curated selections. Of course, Maine products are prominently displayed in all three areas – wine, beer and liquor. bowstreetmarket.com, 79 Bow St.

10 am – 4 pm: Meet sea farmers & eat oysters, learn to shuck, shop with the vendors & food trucks, kids can make a craft or two to take home, and find out more about seaworthy organizations. L.L.Bean parking lots & adjacent locations

10 – 11 am: Shank Painters. The Shank Painters are a pirate-themed folk music trio based in Portland, Maine. The band’s repertoire consists of Shanties – a variety of mostly nautical classic folk songs with catchy sing-along refrains, beloved by children and rowdy drunks alike. These works are treasures of history, preserving the travails and spirit from centuries of seafaring culture. Bringing together accordion, voices, banjo, and guitar, the Shank Painters bring the past alive with their mixture of playful, rollicking, heartbreaking, and hilarious songs. FMI: https://www.shankpainters.com/  Free. L.L.Bean Discovery Park Stage

11 am: The Big Shuck. Professional Shucking Contest. L.L.Bean Discovery Park Stage

11 am – 4: pm Join us all weekend at the Lobster Cooker & Upper Deck Sports Pub during The Maine Oyster Festival! We’ll be serving up special menu items including tasty fried oysters and pouring a wide selection of beers in our garden patio! Just steps away from Festival grounds! thelobstercooker.com, 39 Main St.

11 am – 8 pm: Pop across the street from The Maine Oyster Festival to Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern for discounted oysters on the half shell and special menu item Oysters Rockefeller! lindabeansperfectmaine.com, 88 Main St.

11 am – 9 pm: The Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro is offering special menu items all weekend including Brick Oven Oysters Rockefeller and Oyster Risotto! tuscanbrickovenbistro.com, 140 Main St.

12:30 – 2:30 pm:  Eileen Rose. Fresh off a European tour, Eileen Rose’s music is an authentic, glorious hybrid of honky heroine, Dylan-esque songstress, and road warrior diva. After building a critically acclaimed career in Europe, being musically compared to Patti Smith, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young, Eileen Rose has returned to her New England roots. She and her husband live right here in Freeport, Maine! FMI: eileenrose.com Free. L.L.Bean Discovery Park Stage

3 – 4 pm: Shank Painters. See above. 

12 – 4 pm: Our Working Waterfront at Meetinghouse Arts: a gallery show celebrating our long history with the waterfront industry. Free. 40 Main St.

There’s no admission fee for The Maine Oyster Festival! Plus, parking is free and plentiful in Freeport.