BELFAST SUMMER FESTIVALS
CELEBRATE EVERYTHING FROM WIENER DOGS TO BOAT BUILDING
LOCAL TUNES OFFER
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE bike, walk and jog along the Belfast Rail Trail every day. Some visitors sweat with the exertion of exercise as they speed along the wide, flat route. Others take the trail at a slower pace, quite literally stopping to smell the many wildflowers along its borders.
“It’s prized,” said Mike Hurley, a member of the Belfast Rail Trail Committee. “People refer to it as absolutely one of the best things about Belfast.”
But what makes the 2.3-mile trail so popular?
Opened in 2016, the trail follows the bed of an old railway along the banks of the Passagassawakeag River. With its south trailhead at the Belfast waterfront, just a short walk from downtown, it’s easily accessible to tourists and locals alike.
“You instantly go from urban to forest, and there you are for two and a half miles along this incredible river on the coast of Maine,” Hurley said. “It’s like this connecting highway. A lot of people use it to commute. People ride and walk in and out of town.”
Seaweed clings to the muddy shoreline of the Passagassawakeag, where cormorants and other waterbirds can be found. This tidal portion of the river, just before it empties out into Belfast Bay, is both scenic and steeped in history.
Interpretive signs posted along the trail offer a wealth of information about the area’s past, as well as historic
photos that can help you envision what the route would have looked like over 100 years ago.
Much of the history revolves around the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railway Company. In 1870, a 33-mile railroad opened that spanned from the waterfront in Belfast to Burnham Junction. For decades, trains carried mail, freight and passengers along this route.
Today, the southernmost section of this railroad is the Belfast Rail Trail. The ties and rails are gone, but a celebration of this history remains.
Yet you can still experience much of the railway by train. Thanks to the Brooks Preservation Society, a passenger train still operates seasonally along the railroad from City Point in Belfast to Unity. You can book a ticket right online.
Small improvements are continually being made to the trail. This spring, over a dozen young trees and 50 native shrubs were planted along a section that travels close to a road. And over 20,000 daffodils have been planted along the trail as a part of the citywide Belfast Daffodil Project.
“We’ve made a long list of future improvements, just little things,” Hurley said.
Closed to motorized traffic, the rail trail is used for a wide variety of activities, including biking, running, walking and — when conditions are right — snowshoe-
ing and cross-country skiing. Surfaced with crushed rock and fairly flat, it’s wheelchair accessible and great for strollers. It’s also open to dogs, which must be kept on short leashes and picked up after.
Some highlights of the trail include the historic City Point Cemetery, a scenic trestle bridge and a small picnic area near the banks of the river.
The north end of the Belfast Rail Trail is at City Point, the location of what was once a busy settlement in the mid-1800s, complete with a post office, library, school and several shops and manufacturing operations. Today, just a few houses from that time remain.
A large gravel lot at City Point offers trail visitors ample parking. Trailhead amenities include outhouses, a trash can, a dog waste bag dispenser and a kiosk displaying a trail map and trail use guidelines.
About halfway along the rail trail is a second access point and parking area called the Upper Bridge Entrance near Stephenson Preserve (a great side excursion).
The south end of the trail is called the Amistance Bridge Entrance because it’s right by the scenic, 1000-foot pedestrian bridge. There the rail trail connects to the 0.8mile Harbor Walk, which travels through Front Street Shipyard to downtown Belfast. After your walk, jog or ride, stroll through town to visit art galleries and shops, plus grab a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants.
BELFAST IS A SMALL CITY known for great local food, a thriving downtown, and two fantastic farmers’ markets, but there’s also a growing music scene offering regular opportunities to experience local tunes — from classical to modern, from folk to the blues. Belfast offers annual events and regular concerts to entertain locals, tourists, and visitors from around the state of Maine.
During the summer months, Belfast puts on a show with weekly concerts in the Belfast Summer Nights series. Each week from June to the end of August, Belfast’s waterfront hosts outdoor concerts for the whole family.
The concerts are held each Thursday evening from 5:307:30 p.m. and feature live music from a variety of genres.
BY CRYSTAL SANDS
Within walking distance from both food trucks and local restaurants, the Summer Nights concerts are one of Belfast’s most popular annual events.
Annadene Fowler of Belfast Summer Nights says the concert series started 27 years ago as a way to help local musicians make ends meet and host concerts during the week instead of just on the weekend, and things just grew from there.
“These days all the concerts are at Steamboat Landing Park by the harbor,” Fowler said. “More people, near and far, flock to relax in the waves of music and visions of summertime on the coast in Maine. It is a pleasure to see the kids running a little amuck, to watch the boats sail by, and meet the neighbors and friends for an evening of fabulous musical entertainment.”
Fowler says the concert series in 2023 “will feature local and touring bands of a broad range of genres, including rock and roll, Americana, singersongwriter, a huge brass band, a beloved community band, jazz, funk, world fusion, New Orleans street music, and more.”
But Belfast’s music scene offers even more. The Maine Celtic Celebration, a festival celebrating Maine’s rich Celtic heritage, features a variety of Celtic music and entertainment. From July 21-23, 2023, the festival, now in its 17th season, will include a musical lineup of 12 artists. With everything from bagpipes played by professional piper Catherine Pearce of Machias to accordion music performed by Ireland accordion champion John Whelan, there is music for everyone during this annual celebration on the Belfast waterfront.
Focused on a different genre of music, in the spring, Belfast hosts the All Roads Music Festival, which celebrates local and indie music. This festival takes place each year in May, and in 2023, featured more than 40 artists performing at a variety of venues
throughout the city. This two-day festival features emerging musicians from throughout the state.
Of course, you don’t have to attend a festival to experience Belfast’s rising music scene. Musicians perform throughout the year in several venues around the city. Classical music concerts at the library and pop artists at local restaurants and pubs provide musical experiences all year long. To keep track of musical events in Belfast, check out Belfast’s event calendar at ourtownbelfast.org.
“Music connects us, it is a universal language,” Fowler said. “To see your friends and neighbors, relaxed, barefoot in the grass getting their groove on, or sharing a slice of pizza as the sun sets at Belfast Summer Nights really helps us feel as one big community, made it through another winter. The music can make us laugh and cry, and we do it together.”
Music is, indeed, something that brings all of us together, and with so many opportunities to experience music in Belfast, now is a good time to check out Belfast’s music scene.
BY MARISSA DONOVAN
DACHSHUNDS HAVE HELD a special place in Belfast for 18 years. Not just in the figurative hearts of enthusiasts of the breed, but also on the literal landscape of the Belfast Waterfront for Maine Wienerfest.
The festival began in 2004 when firsttime doxie owner Diane Wood was watching a CBS morning show segment about a picnic for dachshunds in Texas. This inspired her to start her own at Steamboat Landing Park. In 2009, after Friends of Belfast Parks built a local dog park in the area, Carol Good, president of the organization, and fellow volunteers stepped in to help Wood with Wienerfest. The next year Wood donated the money from Wienerfest to the Belfast Dog Park.
Following her retirement and move out of state, Friends of Belfast Parks took over the event as a fundraiser for the dog park and continued activities which include a parade, races, and costume contest, Good said. PAWS of Camden took over hosting the event in 2017 with con-
tinued support from Friends of Belfast Parks. Since then, the summer attraction has served as a fundraiser for the nearby animal shelter.
Wienerfest had almost 900 attendees last year who gathered from all over the country.
“Some people plan their entire Maine vacations around this festival,” said Executive Director Shelly Butler of PAWS in Camden.
A list of this year’s sponsors of the event include Downeast Dog News, Coyote Moon, Front Street Shipyard, and Lincolnville Communications. Deb Bell of Bell’s Furry Friends Photography is the festival’s photographer, and Norma Whitman of Whitman Graphics created the logo design for the big day.
Once the gates open at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10, Wienerfest kicks off with a parade of dachshunds and their owners. Prizes are then raffled off such as T-shirts, hats and other merchandise. Once everyone has had a chance to marvel over the many small dogs, costumes-wearing canines are judged.
“The costumes run the entire gamut,” Butler said. “We love to see as much creativity as possible.”
Next on the fun agenda is the doxie preliminary derby, where dachshunds race against one another.
“Wannabe” dachshunds are also invited to join the friendly competition. Winners of the preliminary go paw-to-paw in the championship derby to end the jam-packed day at 3 p.m. Rain or shine, you can also expect face painting and balloon animals for the kids, a hot dog stand for hungry stomachs, goodies made by Loyal Biscuit, and an obstacle course for the dogs. Tickets are $5 for adults, and dogs and children under 12 get in free.
LEAVE THE LAND-LUBBERS at home for this one.
Come August the charming hamlet of Belfast will once again be hosting Harborfest, its yearly celebration of the town’s impressive maritime history. Sponsored in part by the Belfast Rotary Club, Harborfest (August 18-20, 2023) draws nautical enthusiasts from all over for an exciting weekend of events that cater to a spectrum of ages and interests. And because nothing works up an appetite like being on (or near) the water, Belfast sandwich shop Bell the Cat will be vending refreshments for the duration of the festival.
Harborfest Weekend kicks off Friday, August 18 with “Evening By the Bay.” Attendees are guaranteed a boatload of fun in the form of live music, cocktails, and stunning seaside views. Be sure to pack your doubloons so you can place your bids
at the charity art auction, which raises funds for local community projects.
The majority of events are held on Saturday, beginning with the Pancake Breakfast from 7:30-10:30 a.m. at the Boat House at Steamboat Landing. After filling up on flapjacks, you can cheer on the runners (or join ’em!) at the 5K Bug Run/Walk, where the winner receives — we ship you not — 20 pounds of “bugs,” i.e., lobsters.
To watch others float their boats (quite literally) head to the shore early to snag a spot for the highlight of Harborfest, the 23rd Annual Regatta, in which the Belfast Come Boating! Teams race regional competitors in a 4-mile race. Teams operating six-oared pilot gigs, four-oared boats, and other one- and two-person rowed or paddled crafts are invited to participate; signups will take place between 8-9 a.m. and the race begins at 12 p.m. sharp.
If you're up for a challenge, consider taking part in the National Boat Building Challenge. Teams of two competitors have four hours (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) in which to construct a sea-worthy craft for participation in the 4 p.m. relay race. The $100 entry fee includes all necessary materials; just bring your best mate and your power tools. On Saturday, it’s all hands on (cardboard) deck for the Cardboard Boat Challenge. The team that masters and commands the art of cardboard sailing — or executes “the most spectacular sinking” — will take home the trophy.
Those with junior sailors in tow will appreciate the festival’s specially designated “Kids Area,” with activities such as the “Touch Tank” where children are invited to get up close and personal (and wet) with small sea creatures, and its automotive analogue, the “Touch-A-Truck” display,
BY JOANNA O'LEARYfeaturing emergency, fire, and police vehicles. Other pastimes include face-painting, a race-your-own-sailboat event in the rain gutter regatta, knot-tying lessons, and the “Touch-A-Truck” display.
To get your creative juices flowing and inspire your maritime spirit, be sure to check out the Harborfest’s theme graphic, “Belfast Dock,” based on an oil painting by critically acclaimed Maine artist David Estey. “Belfast Dock” will appear on official Harborfest paraphernalia and souvenirs and the original portrait will also be part of a live auction during “Evening by the Bay.”
Conclude your festival frolicking on a fancy note with the Habitat for Humanity Lobster Gala, where you can get your bug grub on for a very good cause. Lobster dinners, er, lunches will be served starting at noon and Anni and the Rainmakers are set to provide tunes.
