Mira Monte Inn

Southwest Harbor Flamingo Festival

One of the craziest festivals we have on the island is the Southwest Harbor Flamingo Festival, sponsored by the Harbor House. Flamingos on MDI? Come on! Well, no, we don’t have any native flamingos waltzing around, but there is a lot of pink!

This is one of the best family-friendly events all summer long, and events include a lobster dinner, pancake breakfast, fun run, and of course the parade! So bring your best pink clothes, maybe your favorite flamingo lawn ornament (we know you have one), and head over the Southwest Harbor for one fantastic time.

The event runs July 13-18, so it lasts several days. It also helps to benefit the Harbor House, which is Southwest Harbor’s community center and offers a lot of services and events to the community year-round.

Southwest Harbor Flamingo Festival

Flamingo Festival (image courtesy of the Harbor House)

To book your room, head over to our website at: www.miramonte.com

And for more info on the festival, check out the Harbor House’s page at: harborhousemdi.org/flamingo-festival/

Somesville Strawberry Festival

One of our favorite summer traditions is the Somesville Strawberry Festival. Now in it’s 43rd year, the festival offers fresh strawberries to buy, but that’s not what most people go for: They go for the homemade strawberry shortcake (believe me, it’s good!). This is one of the most popular events of the summer season, and not just for tourist but for locals, too.

The festival benefits the MDI Historical Society, which is based out of Somesville and studies, as you might have guessed, the history of the island. But not only that, the Society is active in preserving artifacts and certain historical aspects through the History Trust. It’s a good cause because the island has gone through several cultural revolutions from being dominated by Native Americans to shipbuilders (both French and British) to it’s gilded era to today’s mix of local, park, and tourism offerings.

The festival is July 10 from 1pm to 3pm at the Somesville Firehouse.

For more info on the festival, go here: mdihistory.org/event/strawberry-festival/

To check availability here at the Mira Monte that weekend, click here: www.miramonte.com

Somerville Strawberry Festival

We love strawberries! (credit: MDI Historical Society)

 

Bass Harbor Lobster Boat Races

Lobster boat races are a part of the tradition of lobstering along the coast of Maine, and have been since the introduction of powered boats in the early 1900s. There are professional lobster racing boat builders, and then there are the amateur, real-life working lobstermen and women who take the day off to have some fun and show what their boats can do. Several communities have their race day, and there’s even a points series for the winners. But it’s mostly all fun. Some do it for the trophy, but the vast majority of them do it for the bragging rights. Of course, no lobster boat race day is without a blueberry pancake breakfast.

Mount Desert Island’s lobster boat races take place in Bass Harbor, about a 20-min drive from Bar Harbor, and this year the fun is on Sunday, June 24th. Breakfast starts at 7am and goes until 10am, with lunch from 11:30 until the races end, usually around 1pm. Food is served on the Bernard Town Dock. Having been to many over the years, we can attest that it’s a wicked good time.

To book your stay, check out our availability at: www.miramonte.com.

For more info on the races, go to the Bass Harbor Library at: bassharborlibrary.com/boat-race-breakfast-bbq/

Bass Harbor Lobster Boat Races

And they’re off (credit: Acadia Chamber)

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