The excitement and anticipation is growing as the Damariscotta Mills Alewives Festival Committee is busy making sure that 12th annual Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder “Alewives” Festival is filled with fun, adventures, music, educational exhibits and food to tantalize and intrigue the entire family. The one-day festival will be held on Saturday, May 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Memorial Weekend).

Under the leadership of former Nobleboro Selectperson Deborah Wilson, a successful community based effort to rebuild the Damariscotta Mills fish ladder started in 2007,

At the festival committee’s Jan. 13 planning meeting at the home of Dick and Mary Chase, David Brydges stepped forward, together with others, to give Deb Wilson, Mark Becker and their friends a chance to hand off the work that launches the Festival they founded and have led every year since it began eleven years ago.

Brydges, the festival’s new manager, came from the United Kingdom to the United States in1970 to study mathematics at the University of Michigan. He was a professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia and later at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He and his wife Betty Lu Brydges met at the University of Michigan. They have two daughters. Upon retirement in 2015, David and Betty Lu moved to Damariscotta Mills, drawn back to Maine by memories of many happy family holidays at Ye Olde Forte Cabins next to the Colonial Pemaquid Historic Site.

For those who like to not only participate but to also be involved there are many different volunteer opportunities available. If you can give a few hours of your time to work at the 2019 Fish Ladder “Alewives” Festival or would like to become a member of the planning committee, contact Brydges at 207-832-1790 or db5d@math.ubc.ca. The next festival planning committee meeting will take place on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m. at the home of Dick and Mary Cash.

Kicking off this year’s festival will be the opportunity to run with the Alewives. What better way to celebrate the running alewives than with a 5K run? On the morning of May 25, join us for a healthy community run that includes cash prizes, professional timing and a gorgeous course along the Salt Bay! Pre-register at http://running4free.com/RaceDetails.aspx?raceid=478

Discounts for runners under 14 and for local school track teams. Please use the contact below for more details. For questions or more information, please email Bob Barkalow at bob.barkalow@gmail.com

And, of course, throughout the weekend, there will be alewife viewing up and down the beautifully restored fish ladder. Stay in touch with this year’s festival and fish ladder happenings by going to and bookmarking https://damariscottamills.org/

The fish ladder in Damariscotta Mills has been in operation for over two hundred years. Built in 1807 by the combined efforts of the towns of Newcastle and Nobleboro, the fish ladder was constructed to allow alewives to bypass the mills blocking the falls between Damariscotta Lake and Salt Bay. Last winter we worked on capping the pools we built and the bottom of the ladder above and below the foot bridge.

Help support the ongoing restoration efforts and now annual maintenance of the fish ladder by saving May 25 for your and your family’s annual trip to the Damariscotta Mills fish ladder to watch the alewives’ make their annual migration up the historic, fish ladder with its many stone pools.