Every year, after the lobster has been eaten, the crate race champions have been announced, and the crowds begin to thin out, remaining visitors and volunteers join King Neptune, Blackbeard, the newly-crowned Maine Sea Goddess and Sea Princess, and our many volunteers at Rockland Harbor for the closing ceremony.
Midcoast Maine is home to many fishermen, lobstermen, and sailors. Their trades are part of the local economy, and help our communities thrive. Rockland is also home to a United States Coast Guard station, and we are honored by their service to help protect our waters. The Maine Lobster Festival is about much more than eating lobster; it’s also about honoring the men and women who go out in boats and ships every day to support their families and their communities.
While marine occupations may seem exciting and romantic, they are also uniquely dangerous. At the close of the Maine Lobster Festival each year, our community honors and remembers all those lost at sea with prayers, poems, and solemn observance of a wreath ceremony. King Neptune, accompanied by the Maine Sea Goddess, the Crown Princess, and Blackbeard, tosses a beautiful wreath into Rockland Harbor as a tribute to these seamen and women who are unable to be with us to celebrate. It is a powerful ceremony, and an excellent way to close out festivities.
Photos of the 2015 closing ceremony are on our Facebook page. We hope you’ll join us next year for the 2016 Maine Lobster Festival. Mark your calendar for August 3-7, 2016.
