Maine’s 2024 November Update

November 1, 2024

Fall Downeast Cider + Cheese Festival

Celebrate late fall in Maine at the 7th annual Downeast Cider + Cheese Festival in Ellsworth, which celebrates the revival of two traditional foods, hard cider, and cheese, and honors the rich tradition of Maine’s historic apple industry. Running from November 8-10, the festival will include cider-making and cheese-making demonstrations, a talk with an apple historian, and a silent auction.

Gardens Aglow

The most spectacular holiday moment on the coast of Maine is Gardens Aglow, a festival of lights at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay from November 16 through December 31, 2024. What began as a grassroots event is now the largest such event in the state, with more than 750,000 LED lights strung among the 14-acre gardens. It’s the largest lighting display in the state, attracting close to 100,000 visitors every year.

Holiday Celebrations Statewide

There are holiday celebrations throughout the state in December. “Christmas by the Sea” is how Mid-Coast Maine celebrates in Camden, Rockport, and Lincolnville from December 6-8, while the nearby town of Rockland presents the Festival of Lights on the first weekend of December, kicking off the season with the arrival of Santa Claus by lobster boat and the lighting of a 30-foot tall lobster trap tree. Freeport Sparkles for the Holidays is now in its 31st season, and the festive events run from December 6-15.

Maine Made Goods for the Holidays

One way to give the spirit of Maine to family and friends is to buy a gift from one of the Maine-owned companies that belong to Maine Made. These are locally made gifts, often hand-crafted, from some of the state’s finest artists, artisans, and craftspeople. There’s a high level of workmanship and a similar level of creativity. Start with Lobster Buoy Birdhouse Co., which makes lobster buoy birdhouses, suet feeders, buoys, planters, and ornaments designed to resemble vintage buoys that lobstermen used in the early 1900s to identify their traps. Shaw & Tenney makes exquisite hand-crafted wooden oars and paddles. Kennedy & Company produces a variety of practical leather goods. Sportsmen love the fly rods from the Maine Fly Company, while Sea Bags is a renowned maker of bags made from recycled sails. Handmade copper weathervanes are what you’ll find at Bar Harbor Weathervanes, while Winterstick Snowboards are based in the Carrabassett Valley near Sugarloaf.

Maine Made Food Gifts

It’s easy to give the taste of Maine for the holidays. Maine Made has a range of gourmet and specialty foods from the state’s best producers and purveyors who can ship their wares in time for the holidays. Maple syrup is on tap at Sawyers Maple Farm in Jackman, Hilltop Boilers Maple Syrup of Newfield, and Maple Moon Farm of Lebanon. Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. is where you can find Lobster Mac and Cheese, Lobster Pot Pies, Lobster Rolls, and Lobster Risotto, among other gifts. Dunstan Smokehouse Co. of Scarborough, Ducktrap River of Maine in Belfast, and Grindstone Neck of Winter Harbor all offer a variety of smoked seafood, from scallops to mussels to salmon. Maine Coast Sea Vegetables has dried organic seaweeds. Bleuberet of Ellsworth specializes in wild Maine blueberry jams, fruit spreads, and preserves from blueberries grown locally. Maine Grains of Skowhegan is a gristmill featuring traditional stone milling and operates from a historic repurposed county jailhouse. Crooked Face Creamery of Skowhegan offers small-batch cheeses and locally raised meats. More artisanal cheeses are available at Balfour Farm in Pittsfield and Lakin’s Gorges Cheese of Waldoboro. Raye’s Mustard is one of Down East Maine’s oldest small family businesses, the 4th generation of the Raye family to own and operate Raye’s Mustard Mill. More exotic fare is available from Mumbai to MAINE, which specializes in the tastes of India, while Asian food is the specialty of Red Kettle Foods. Cape Whoopies, Maine’s Gourmet Whoopie Pie of South Portland, sells Maine’s favorite dessert for a stellar finish to a Maine meal.