Join us on Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the return of the alewives! The ninth annual Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder Restoration Festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, May 28 and 29. “We are holding the festival to celebrate the return of the alewives and the near-completion of the restoration work,” said Deb Wilson, one of the event organizers. “We are so close to being finished, we just have a small punch list to go—what a wonderful achievement thanks to neighbors and friends of the fish ladder.”

Thousands and thousands of alewives will be the stars of the festival and there will be viewing at both the bottom of the ladder and in Russ and Diana Williams’ yard at the ladder top from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Festival events will take place in many locations around Damariscotta Mills---at the fish house at the bottom of the ladder, Mulligan’s Smokehouse, along Ladds Hill Road, at the top of the ladder, and at Alewives Fabrics on Main Street. Look for signs pointing the way to activities and maps showing the location of all events.

There are two new festival events this year – Run with the Alewives, a road race (5K and 10K) that will take place on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. just down the road from the fish house (see runinarace.com). This awesome race is not to be missed! In addition, there will be an evening concert by the well-known Boston band, the Adam Ezra Group, a talented and charismatic group named the Best Band in Boston by Alternative Root Magazine. The show will be held on Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater and tickets, on sale at Alewife Fabrics in Damariscotta Mills, at Milling Around in Newcastle, and at the festival until they’re gone, are $25 each.

What’s the same in this year’s festival is the great food! Each day a special menu has been prepared. On Saturday, Chef Tom Wriggins will again put on his famous pig roast with all the fixin's -- a real treat! And, thanks to the Damariscotta River Grill, Liberty Cup, Oxbow, and Sheepscot Valley Brewing Co., you can enjoy your pulled pork sandwich with a cold beer—while alewives swim by and osprey dive to eat their lunch. The food on Sunday will be equally special—we’ll be serving lobster and crab rolls with chips and a pickle -- and perhaps another cold beer. We’ll also have hot dogs, local oysters, and ice cream on both days. Vegetarian options will be available on both days.

Mulligan’s smoked alewives--the best in the area—will be on sale all weekend at the smokehouse or until they run out. The “Smokehouse Girls” will be serving food on Saturday and Sunday this year—their famous breakfast sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch, with all the fixin's. Fondie York will be making her famous homemade donuts on Saturday while on Sunday Paula Roberts’ fabulous donuts—plain, sugar, molasses, squash, and chocolate, will be on sale at the smokehouse—be sure not to miss them!

Children’s activities will be held near the fish house, on Ladds Hill Road and at Alewives Fabrics. The ever-popular osprey fishing game can again be played on Ladds Hill Road, while there will be a touch tank including tide pool creatures located near the fish house in addition to restoration progress photos since 2007. There will also be free face painting at Alewives Fabrics together with ice cream and soda.

The festival is sponsored by the towns of Nobleboro and Newcastle and the Nobleboro Historical Society along with over 20 local businesses. Please join us for a wonderful festival and a chance to see alewives close up as they ascend the fish ladder to spawn in Damariscotta Lake. For additional information, please check out our website at www.damariscottamills.org or contact Deb Wilson at 380-6997 or deb.wilson@roadrunner.com or Russ Williams at 329-1161 or rwilliams343@gmail.com. Hope to see you at the festival!