Super Roll Local…read moreCeltic celebration here in Belfast that's been going on for eighteen years (ca. 2006) and takes course annually over a weekend in August. We happened to be in town for the last day of the few festival, which held the most important event: the cheese roll! The Good: *Free to attend *Chill atmosphere and didn't seem overly crowded *Lots of food trucks *Great location at the Belfast Ha'bah *Family-friendly *Live Celtic-themed ingredients *Heavy Games (aka Scottish Highland games) *Cheese roll was epic and totally worth watching. It seems like the stupidest thing on earth, but I promise you it's fucking hilarious and so much fun to watch. The Meh: *Didn't really notice a lot of crafty booths around, but it's possible they might've been gone since we showed up for only the final hours of the event. The Ugly: *Parking down at the Ha'bah can be a giant PiTa, but not impossible. Conclusion: Great local festival with some fun events--and don't miss the cheese roll!

Top quality musicians, many of whom also give workshops in fiddle, accordion or whatever their…read morespecial instrument happens to be. There are also music sessions each day where one can bring one's own instrument and join in with a group to jam. The Scottish "heavy games" are amazing to watch as burly men (and women) compete in traditional events such as the caber toss, hammer throw and stone put, all while wearing kilts. Lots of food vendors and craft or information booths. There's also a Renaissance 'travelers' village. And there are fireworks Saturday night! All of this takes place on the waterfront within walking distance from downtown Belfast. Entry is by donation and well worth the contribution!

The All Roads Music Fest is an up and coming gem in the Midcoast region. No-else is doing a DIY…read moremusic fest in Maine quite like Meg Shorette and company. I noticed a lot of familiar faces from some folks that used to work with Kahbang and, unlike Kahbang, All Roads was a local Maine only line-up. This team worked hard to put all of these acts in place over the course of one day. Belfast is becoming a hot spot for young professionals, given the new companies that are sprouting up there. All Roads included 3 primary music stages and the local library also hosted panels, musicians and speakers throughout the day. There was also a very small performance space across from the Colonial where they had bands being interviewed and hoola hoopers a hooping. I can't wait to see what they do with the festival next year and it was a great experience given that it was their first year putting something like this together. The marketing materials were well made and they also had some great sponsors on board. I know Belfast is a little out of the way for some folks, but we made a weekend of it and would not regret a second of it. Three tides was also a great resting / hang out spot during the festival. They ended up having the after party there and it was a great laid back community vibe. Intimate but entertaining. Can't wait for All Roads 2016!

Visit the small town of Winter Harbor for their annual lobster festival! Craft vendors, boat…read moreraces, good food and a parade make for a fun filled day! Blueberry pancake breakfast to a lobster dinner! If those do not appeal, there are food trucks and local restaurants. While you are there, enjoy some local shopping. The Winter Harbor 5&10 has everything Winter Harbor! If you have time, visit Schoodic Point and enjoy the view and the waves crashing on the rocks. This happens every August. Be sure you are there!! So much fun!!!

Every August the town of Winter Harbor hosts their annual Lobster Festival and this year we had the…read morepleasure of attending the 51st celebration. We started out the day by shopping at all the outdoor vendors. After wandering for an hour we decided to watch the lobster boat races and then finished out the day with their lobster dinner and some music from their musicians. In the end, we loved this little festival and although we had no idea how to watch and judge the lobster boat races, we felt like part of the community. In the future we hope to attend this festival again because it was a blast!

From Reno, Nv. we flew into Portland, ME. to the Maine Lobster Festival. Yes, finally scratching…read morethis off my bucket list. Festival runs from July 30- August 3rd. The Festival is located at Rockland's Harbor Park, is easy to find on Main Street. There is FREE parking at South Elementary School (30 Broadway, Rockland, ME) where a free shuttle bus will take you downtown to the Festival. Buses run every 30 minutes or less. Entrance gates are located on Main Street and Park Street. It was sprinkling our first day at the festival therefore the lines were nonexistent; loved it! I was here for the Lobstah but there were quite a lot of food vendors if I wanted to have fish, chicken or pork. A lot of drink options as well, boba, beer, lemonade and plenty of other soft drinks. We purchased the 3 lobster dinner for 85 dollars it came with a corn in the cob, hot drawn butter, slaw, bib, salt, pepper, 1 napkin, 1 wet wipe and a plastic wobbly pick I'm guessing to aid with getting the lobster out of the shell(useless). We also got a Shore dinner for 59, which came with 1 lobster, big steamed clams, corn on the cob, chowder of your choice, they had about 5 different types, we got the haddock, it was chunky and had a lot of flavor.They sell lobster crackers for 8 dollars shaped like a claw but they are also useless without a real handle and once you get butter on them, which it's inevitable, they get slippery and you have the 1 thin paper napkin to work with. Anyway, BYO cracker and napkins; Messy transaction but lots of fun! They have a tent with lots of arts and crafts. Local artists showcase their work and it's all available for purchase. I saw a few ladies selling knitted items and home made jewelry too. So many beautiful things, you're sure to find something for everyone to take home. All people working here are volunteers and they are sweet and friendly. I plan on returning for sure. It was a super chill and fun experience. Loved it!

I was a little disappointed for the most part in this festival, personally I was expecting more…read morelobster options than a main tent and one very bad frozen lobster food truck. I expected a larger variety of lobster food items. But there was a tent with hand crafted local items, something I enjoy and a bounce house area for the kids, although a little overpriced. Another take away was the lack of seating areas other than the main food tent, if you did buy food here there were little to no areas to sit and eat or take a break. All in all we had been trying to get to this festival for years, but once was enough.

We came to see the trolls! We made a night away of coming to the Botanical Gardens to see five of…read moreThomas Dambo's troll installations and stayed to appreciate everything else. The Trolls: there are 5 trolls on an easy path on the outskirts of the Gardens. If all you want to do is see the trolls, an able bodied person could manage in about an hour. If you're slower or need assistance, it would take longer. There is a shuttle for those who want/need it to get down to the trolls farther out. There's a ton more to do than just see the trolls though. Everything else: There's a bunch of stops throughout the Gardens that kept our 3 kids (8, 11, 12) occupied. We spent a lot of time building fairy gardens, enjoying the view at the dock, and we walked out to the Guardian of the Seeds installation. The grounds themselves are meticulously maintained and it would be beautiful to walk around any day.

We loved visiting this garden and were delighted that we could use our AHS reciprocal membership…read morehere. The trolls were certainly the highlight, enormous in scale and wonderfully set up as a scavenger hunt activity for both adults and the kids. The children's field guide was also an excellent way to keep the littles excited and searching. We loved all the wooded paths and thoughtful and well curated immersive areas from the sensory garden to the area with music inspired by the local outdoors. The children's garden is also well put together, themed after local books and with an interactive activity each, which was such a neat idea. We only wished that the maps were a bit clearer (ie they differed even better the children's map and the main one, one did not list names of the trolls, etc). We spent 2.5 hours here on our way between Bar Harbor and Portland and wished we had more time and lived closer!

Tge Bangor fair has been declining due years, now it's a total disappointment. Very few rides,…read more fewer food trucks and the biggest disappointment is the animals. Now they only have sheep and cows! What happened to the rabbits? My advice is to save your money and go to a different fair that is hopefully better.

This stare fair has incredibly good prices and a beautiful midway! Over the years of going to this…read morefair, they have host amazing entertainment such as World of Wonders. This year, I was excited to see them book the Nerger family tigers! These Tigers were used on the final season tour of Cole Bros Circus and the Negers are great with their cats! I have seen countless people on Facebook and on here post poor review based on their use of Nerger's cats and I have to issue with them doing so. They are getting their information from animal extremist groups propaganda sites. These sites and groups lie to achieve their unlimited goal of complete human/animal separation. Using cat acts and other animals acts as ammunition is easy for them because the average animal lover does not understand that these are lies or what the organizations actually represent. I am happy that fairs, such as the one in Bangor are continuing to support the well being and preservation of these beautiful animals! I think they understand the small but loud group of people who oppose these acts are in the minority. That being said, this minority of people who think are helping these animal are unknowingly assisting in these animals becoming extinct.