Events

Events in East Bay

East Bay doesn’t have a packed event calendar the way bigger towns do. What it has is a rhythm, things that happen when they’re supposed to happen, every year, the way they always have. This page covers the ones worth knowing about if you’re visiting, and the ones locals tend to forget to mention because they assume everyone already knows.

Year-Round

The Pier Street Market runs every Saturday from before sunrise until the weather turns or the vendors run out, whichever comes first. Produce trucks arrive by 6:00 AM. If you’re coming for blueberries or corn, come early. The Knife Guy, Joe Davison, has a regular booth and will sharpen blades he’s sold you for free. Most Saturdays you’ll catch Paige and Eddie Grant playing fiddle and dulcimer near the south end. They pass a hat. It goes to their college fund.

The Blue Anchor Pub hosts trivia every Thursday night and live music on select Fridays. Check the board out front for the current lineup.

Spring

Spring cleanup happens town-wide, usually once the mud has settled enough to make it worth doing. Residents turn out to clear the roadsides, the harbor walk, and the public lots. It wraps up with a chowder meal at the Grange. Attendance at the chowder portion is significantly higher than at the cleanup portion.
– First two weeks in April. Free cleanup bags at Dockide, Mel’s, and Town Hall.

Summer

Pier Street Tacos opens for the season on Memorial Day and runs Thursday through Sunday through Labor Day. 
– From 10 am daily to whenever they run out, usually around 12:30-ish.

The Church Cookouts start sometime in June and run until the first frost threatens. Long table for casseroles, short table for desserts. Mrs. Johnson’s baked goods tend to disappear first.

July 4th means the parade. Every flatbed truck in town gets pressed into service. The school band plays, and every year they miss the same two notes in the same place. This is considered tradition at this point and not discussed.
– July 4

The Mummichog Hunt kicks off the first weekend of August. It’s a children’s thing, officially. Kids work the wharf with jars trying to catch mummichogs out of the shallows. Adults watch from a distance and pretend not to be invested in the outcome.
– First Weekend in August

The East Bay Annual Lobster Festival

The Lobster Festival runs the last full week of August and is the biggest week of the year in East Bay. The harbor fills up. The school parking lot turns into a carnival. Maple Street becomes a food truck corridor for the week, the usual suspects: elephant ears, gyros, hotdogs, lemonade, all priced for people who drove two hours to be here. Locals know to eat before they go.

Out on the water there are paddle boat races. Up above, kite fliers work the harbor wind and hot air balloons go up in the mornings when the conditions are right. The whole thing ends on Sunday night with fireworks over the water.
– Reservations at Harborside Grille fill up fast. Plan ahead or eat off the food trucks on Maple Street with everyone else.

Fall

The Fall Fair comes around once the harvest is in. Ring toss, a candy-corn guessing jar, and tractor rides courtesy of Mr. Leland. 
– Second week of October

Tawnyberry Farms opens for picking in the fall, apples and pumpkins, hot cider, donuts, hay rides.
– Second week of September through the first week of November

The Library Book Sale runs the last two weeks of October. Paperbacks are cheaper than you’d expect. The good ones go fast.
– Last two weeks of October

Winter

Once the ice on Mill Pond is declared safe, the lines go down and hockey starts. There’s no formal schedule. You’ll know it’s happening.