2020 Special Events in Castine

PLEASE NOTE: Due to COVID-19, please check back as some of the following events may be postponed or canceled.

Castine Historical Society Summer Exhibit: June 8 – October 12

This 2020 Maine Bicentennial exhibit invites visitors to step back in time to the 1800s when Castine’s working waterfront thrived on a global market. Shipyards and a dozen active wharves stood along Castine Harbor. Chandleries and sailmakers outfitted schooners and square-riggers amidst the smell of tar, fish and wood. Castine merchants and shipowners ran an effective and largely self-contained international trade in fish, cotton, and salt from about 1820-1860. The exhibit looks at the many risks faced by the men and women sailing wooden ships across the open ocean to carry merchandise to distant ports. Exhibit schedule and hours can be found at castinehistoricalsociety.org.

Exhibit opens Monday, June 8, 2020. Admission is free.

June 8 – Labor Day | Monday – Saturday 10 AM-4 PM | Sundays 1-4 PM
Labor Day – Indigenous Peoples’ Day(Columbus Day) | Friday, Saturday, & Monday 10 AM-4PM | Sunday 1-4PM

Fourth of July Celebration

Fourth of July officially kicks off the Castine summer season. Visitors from around the world return to a place they have long cherished – Under The Elms and By The Sea.

Family, friends and visitors join in a classic celebration that begins bright and early with a 1k & 5k Fun Run, followed by a costume parade at 10am that assembles in front of Witherle Memorial Library. After the parade, take part in multiple events on the town common (tug-o-war, sack races, pie eating contest) or just mingle and enjoy the sites.

A day full of activities culminates with an evening concert and an amazing fireworks display over the bay!

Maine 200 Celebration – July 12-14, 2020

The year 2020 marks Maine’s Bicentennial and Castine is throwing a birthday party! (Maine200.org). In addition to celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Maine’s Statehood, we will also commemorate the Centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. To mark this Centennial, we are saluting Women Leading the Way on the Coast of Maine while celebrating the empowerment and education of women.

To commemorate Castine’s Penobscot Bay Maritime Heritage, we will be hosting the tall ship, Oliver Hazard Perry, from July 12-14. To learn more about the Perry, visit their website.

To begin the celebration, a parade of ships ranging from small boats to large seagoing vessels will lead the way up Penobscot bay into Castine on July 12, 2020. On July 13, we will continue our celebration through hosting speakers throughout town, sponsoring tours of historic Castine and our visiting sailing vessels.

Finally, on July 14, we will celebrate Maine, our unity and equality through our Bastille Day event with speakers, tours and our annual Picnic en Blanc dinner.

Tours, exhibits, music, programs, food, merchandise and more.

For more info visit our Maine 200 page.

House & Garden Tour

FYI – The House & Garden Tour has been rescheduled for July 2021.

For more information visit the Castine Historical Society’s Website

Plein Air Festival

FYI – The Castine Arts Association has decided not to host the Plein Air Festival in 2020.

For more information go to www.castinearts.org.

Castine Classic Yacht Race – July 29 & 30, 2020

Please join us for the 21st annual Castine Classic Yacht Celebration, sponsored by the Castine Yacht Club, which will honor Significant Maine Builds and Restorations.

Exhibition: July 29th, noon – 4pm at the Castine town dock.

The yachts will include, among others, the modern replica of Ernest Hemingway’s yacht PILAR under construction at Brooklin Boatyard; the classic Newbert & Wallace lobster yacht VIM, restored by Artisan Boatworks; the sardine carrier WILLIAM UNDERWOOD, restored as cruising yacht by Rockport Marine; and, if available, the HOOD 57 express cruiser being built by Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding. We will also have on exhibition the famed 48′ cutter VIOLA from Monaco, designed and built by William Fife III in 1908.

Symposium: July 29th, 4:00-6:00pm at Delano Auditorium, Maine Maritime Academy, will include representatives of these yachts and builders including:

- Eric Stockinger, Project Manager, Brooklin Boat Yard, will detail the building of the PILAR replica
- Alec Brainerd, Artisan Boatworks, will discuss the restoration of VIM
- Sam Temple of Rockport Marine will detail the restoration of the WILLIAM UNDERWOOD
- Todd French, French & Webb, will discuss the epoch three-year restoration of the Presidential yacht SEQUOIA
- Drew Lyman, Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, will discuss the construction underway for the Hood 57
- Kostia Belkin, Viola‘s “14th Keeper”, and Fabien Despres, her long-time skipper, will discuss VIOLA‘s fabled history.

Following the Symposium, the Castine Yacht Club will host a reception.

On July 30th, a fleet of more than 40 classic yachts will race a 19.6nm course from Castine to Camden, followed by the Camden to Brooklin race on Friday, July 31, and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta on Saturday, August 1.

For Race Notice, Registration, other information, please refer to the website, www.castineclassic.com.