Volunteer Growers Weigh-Off 2024
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Join us for a gathering of local pumpkin growers presenting their 2023 pumpkins to be weighed!
7 AM: Fruit drop-off begins
10 AM: Weigh Off Begins
Join us for a gathering of local pumpkin growers presenting their 2023 pumpkins to be weighed!
7 AM: Fruit drop-off begins
10 AM: Weigh Off Begins
Join us for the nail-biting weigh off where growers from around Maine will present their giant pumpkins for competition!
7AM : Fruit drop-off begins
10AM : Weigh Off begins
A ballet of forklifts and giant gourds takes place every year on Thursday evening before the festival weekend to get the pumpkins into place all along Main Street in Damariscotta.
Let us know if you would like to join the group of volunteers who help make this magic happen!
Come see the masters at work assembling pumpkinboats for the upcoming regatta race!
Witness artists transform giant pumpkins into amazing works of art! Artists will be working all day on Main Street paint, carving, and decorating their pumpkins.
Come see the masters at work assembling pumpkinboats for the upcoming regatta race!
Carnival games, activities, inflatables and more for kids!
Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta is pleased to invite all chefs, bakers, and wannabe Food Network stars to enter this year’s Pumpkin Dessert Contests. This yummy event will be held at Skidompha Library and samples will be for sale following judging.
Please see www.mainepumpkinfest.com/dessert-contest for official rules for entry and other event details! oes here
Watch as Main Street, Damariscotta hosts a parade full of music, energy, fun and frivolity!
A fun scavenger hunt style event for children involving mini jack-be-little pumpkins!
Registration for all begins at 8:15am
Hunt for children 5 and under 9:00am
Hunt for children 6+ 10:00am
Carnival games, activities, inflatables and more for kids!
The 2023 Pumpkin Derby brings yet another way to utilize a pumpkin, as spectators and contestants will enjoy the “soapbox-styled” pumpkin-car race! A perfect parental bonding opportunity!
The 2023 Pie Eating Contest will be a spectacular involving races and feats of feasting taking place on Sunday at Elm Street Plaza. In between pie-eating, from about 4:30 onward, Team Maine Armwrestling will take the stage to bring delight to the audience with their amazing skills in demonstration.
Described as the “extreme sport of gardening,” this real-life jack-in-the- beanstalk sport is an event you don’t want to miss! Spectators will be thrilled to watch giant gourds -steered by captains either paddling or powered by “wicked nice motors”- ply the waters of the Damariscotta River in a series of races.
The Regatta will take place when high tide allows each year. For 2023, that will be at 9 AM on Monday, October 9th! Needless to say, those 600 lb pumpkin boats need HIGH TIDE to be able to float & go really fast!
The regatta can be viewed harbor-side, or via a “live feed” into The Lincoln Theater, where spectators are able to watch the event, seated in the warmth and comfort of the historic theater.
Our kids movie this year is on Monday, Oct. 9 at 2pm.
One tiny seed, harvested from a giant pumpkin, swaddled in soil, nurtured and loved, grows to form its pumpkin identity. This is your chance to raise a winner! 750 plantings will be displayed for adoption, care and nurture. A "celebrity" panel of professional giant pumpkin growers will be on hand to offer you formulas for raising formidable competitors, sometimes weighing up to 2,000 lbs. To ensure a perfect seedling sendoff, the Pumpkinfest Queen will be present to bless the tiny plants; and will be seated on her throne for fun family photos.
Let this four-month competition begin on Sunday, May 19th. This is a perfect family project, filled with education, fun, and wonder! Did you know that these pumpkins can grow as much as 25 lbs. in one day! Join in the fun! Your FREE seedling is waiting for you! See you on Sunday, May 19th!
Get those creative juices flowing and submit a winning design. A $500 prize will be awarded to the artist whose design is selected. And, fame and fortune will follow as the winning design will be featured on thousands of t-shirts and hoodies and seen by tens of thousands of happy visitors who come to celebrate the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta on October 12-14, 2024.
Carnival games, activities, inflatables and more for kids!