The Maine Maritime Museum, Farnsworth Art Museum, Boothbay Railway Village and Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, all non-profit organizations, were recently awarded a $10,000 marketing grant from the Maine Office of Tourism to launch Maine’s Pumpkin Trail. Maine’s Pumpkin Trail includes family-friendly activities along a 50-mile stretch of Maine’s coast including the communities of Bath, Boothbay, Damariscotta and Rockland running through the end of October.

The partnership grew out of a smaller collaboration between the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta and the Boothbay Railway Village. According to Margaret Hoffman, executive director at the Boothbay Railway, “Sometime in the winter of 2014-2015 I sent an email off to the volunteers running Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta and asked if there might be a way to work together since we host the Fall Foliage Festival also on the same weekend in October and just ten miles away. As a result, last year our staff grew two Atlantic Giant Pumpkins which hit about 350 pounds each, we invited artist Thomas Block to carve them during the Fall Foliage Festival and we added a pumpkin carving contest to our event to complement the activities happening up the road. We also saw a big increase in our attendance over the recent years."

The volunteers of Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, called a meeting in January of 2016 with the Boothbay Railway Village, Maine Maritime Museum and the Farnsworth Art Museum. They believed that creating the four-way partnership would increase fall visitation for all. Their 2016 Columbus Day Weekend festival includes the legendary Pumpkinboat Regatta (on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 9), the famed Pumpkin Derby, the Monty Pythonesque “Pumpkin Catapult” and Giant Slingshot Fun, and the Official Giant Pumpkin Parade (on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 8).  

As a result, the partners developed and expanded their programs for the fall and all three Museums planted Atlantic Giant Pumpkins on their campuses this summer. The Maine Maritime Museum's Boatshop hopes to use their pumpkin to create their entry for the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest's annual Pumpkinboat Regatta. The Farnsworth Art Museum will use their giant pumpkin to create art live during the October First Friday Art Walk “The Art of Disaster” in Rockland. The Boothbay Railway Village will have a local artist carve their giant pumpkins during the 49th annual Fall Foliage Festival.

David Troup, Communications Officer at the Farnsworth Art Museum, boldly suggested that the partners should have a little friendly competition to see who could grow the biggest pumpkin. The results will be available soon as the growing season is fast coming to an end. According to Troup, the least successful partner will be seen on social media wearing shirts, hats and other garb from each of the other two. 

Upcoming autumn programming at Maine Maritime Museum includes several coastal lighthouse lore cruises and wildlife cruises in Merrymeeting Bay, historic cemetery tours, and the new exhibit "Over East, an Artist's Journal: Paintings by Robert Beck of the Contemporary Maritime Community" a close and personal look at how life is lived in working villages along the coast.

In addition to the Fall Foliage Festival on Columbus Day Weekend, the Boothbay Railway Village also offers Family Harvest Days on Oct. 1 and 2. This event features farm animals, barrel train rides, hands-on butter making and Dutch oven cooking, and a pumpkin hayride. It is also a participating site in Maine Craft Weekend with featured traditional artists demonstrating blacksmithing, metal raising, quilting, lace-making, and rug twining.

In early October, the Farnsworth will celebrate the opening of the museum’s exhibition "The Art of Disaster," with a special event on Rockland’s First Friday Art walk highlighted by a series of “Pumpkin Disaster” interactive photography backdrops—including a giant “pumpkin tidal wave” sculpture in their sculpture garden.

Although autumn in the Midcoast region has seen overnight visitor growth in recent years, there remains an opportunity to increase occupancy even more. According to Katie Meyers, marketing director at Maine Maritime Museum, “The goal of Maine’s Pumpkin Trail is to capitalize on existing celebrations like the 10th annual Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and the 49th annual Fall Foliage Festival as cornerstones, while developing new related experiences in Rockland and Bath. This mass of activity is designed to encourage extended stays in paid accommodations and increase overall tourism-related spending throughout the region. While Maine Maritime Museum and the Farnsworth are able to stay open year-round, many Midcoast region businesses are forced to close after Columbus Day due to seasonal water cut-offs or the lack of weatherization of their sites. The timing of the partnership is strategic because economic growth in this time period is crucial for seasonal businesses and our efforts will benefit the maximum number of properties.”

The partners, with financial support from the Maine Office of Tourism through the Tourism Enterprise Grant Program, have advertising running for Maine’s Pumpkin Trail in Massachusetts and New Hampshire as well as Southern Maine. Radio and online ads are directing potential visitors to connect to Maine’s Pumpkin Trail on Facebook. “Residents and business owners can support our effort by sharing that page with friends, family and clients as well. It takes all of us working together using Maine’s Pumpkin Trail to bring new visitors to the region,” according to Heather Troidl volunteer web master with Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta.

To learn more about Maine’s Pumpkin Trail, connect on Facebook or visit any of the partner organization websites.

https://www.facebook.com/MainePumpkinTrail/

http://railwayvillage.org/

www.damariscottapumpkinfest.com

http://www.farnsworthmuseum.org/

http://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org/