Get set for a fun-filled Independence Day weekend in Searsport as we celebrate both the Maine Bicentennial and Searsport’s 175th Birthday. Events include Tall Ships Festival 2021, a 175th birthday parade, live concert and picnic, a huge fireworks display, and so much more! July 1-5, 2021 in Searsport Maine.
After a year of pandemic postponements and coronavirus cancellations, Maine’s Bicentennial celebrations are back on track. Though the state has now reached it’s 201st birthday, many of the events planned for last year’s bicentennial have moved forward to summer 2021.
The same is true for Searsport’s 175th birthday.
Searsport, Maine turned 175 in 2020 but, for obvious reasons, all related festivities were postponed. Now that things are opening back up, many of the previously postponed events are being rescheduled for the coming months.
Consequently, Maine’s summer is looking more exciting and fun-filled than ever!
Four-Port Loop Tall Ships Festival 2021
One of the biggest attractions of the weekend, or I could say July, is the Four-Port Loop Tall Ships Festival.
The Four-Port Loop Tall Ships Festival 2021 celebrates Maine’s 201st with historic tall ships and other watercraft visiting the ports of Searsport, Orrington, Bangor/Brewer, and Bucksport. The event runs from July 1st through the 24th, with each host port offering land activities and dockside access for the public.
In Searsport, we’ll be celebrating our town’s 175th, made all the more special by the visit of the Tall Ships and their planned Windjammer Gam. What’s a Windjammer gam? It’s a raft-up and social meeting between vessels at sea. The raft-up allows you to walk between the boats and usually includes live music and a traditional toast of grog.
If you’ve ever seen these historic, tall masted ships up close, you know how beautiful and awe inspiring they can be. If you haven’t, well it’s time to change that!
Tall Ships Festival 2021 Schedule
Searsport July 1, 18
Orrington July 14
Bangor/Brewer July 15-16
Bucksport July 17
Learn more at www.facebook.com.
Searsport’s 175th Birthday Weekend
The Four-Port Loop Tall Ships Festival may be one of the bigger attractions for Searsport’s 175th Birthday Weekend but it’s not the only one. Events for Searsport’s 175th stretch from July 1st to the 5th, with plenty to do both on and off shore.
Highlights include dramatic reenactments of historic maritime adventures at the Penobscot Marine Museum on July 1st; comedian Tim Sample at the Searsport Memorial Gymnasium on July 2nd; and the 175th Searsport Birthday Parade, downtown at 11am on July 3rd.
Other attractions historic walking tours, row boat races, art shows, a poker run, live concerts, clamming demonstrations, and the biggest fireworks show Searsport has ever seen. Learn more at searsport175.com or on the week’s Facebook page.
Captain Nickels Inn is proud to be a historic part of Searsport, ME and is excited to share the weekend’s festivities with our guests. All in all, it will be an Independence Day weekend to remember, and then some. We hope you can come join us!
Maine’s 200th+1 Birthday Celebration
Maine turned 200 in 2020 with lots of special events planned to celebrate the anniversary throughout the state and year. History, however, had its own plans.
Now that things are beginning to open back up, many of last year’s festivities are finding their way onto this year’s calendar. Scheduling is still very much in flux, however, as pandemic restrictions around the state lift at different rates.
Visit www.maine200.org or the event’s Facebook page to follow Maine’s 200th+1 Birthday Celebration details as they unfold.