Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta

Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta
Friday - Monday, October 10-13, 2025
(402)

I know you’re wondering about our Merch Drop - well we are narrowing it down to the beginning of August - 2025 shirts ha...
07/08/2025

I know you’re wondering about our Merch Drop - well we are narrowing it down to the beginning of August - 2025 shirts hats and other swag will be available online and in Hannafords stores in a few weeks! We will announce it on our website and here as soon as they are available for purchase. Stay tuned!

Our growers are showing off their new babies! And yes, in Maine we measure things with what we have on hand - Yankee ing...
07/05/2025

Our growers are showing off their new babies! And yes, in Maine we measure things with what we have on hand - Yankee ingenuity!

We’ve received some queries on how to troubleshoot those pesky pests. This has good info!
06/30/2025

We’ve received some queries on how to troubleshoot those pesky pests. This has good info!

A detailed beginner's guide on how to grow giant pumpkins.

06/25/2025
Hello, growers! Your seedlings are now almost 6 weeks old and are hopefully flourishing! If your plants are still small...
06/25/2025

Hello, growers! Your seedlings are now almost 6 weeks old and are hopefully flourishing! If your plants are still small, hang in there! You can still grow a nice giant with a late pollination now that the heat is on. For now, you should be focused on growing as much plant (which actually functions as a huge root system for your pumpkin) as possible because pollination time will be here before you know it. A bit more phosphorus in your fertilizer regimen (that's a higher middle number like a 15-30-15) will promote plant growth. Stick with the liquid fish and seaweed foliar feeding, spraying the top and bottom of each leaf until wet, 3 times a week. Mix your fish and seaweed in your sprayer at a ratio of 1 oz/gallon of water until your plant is well into the vining stage. Only foliar feed when the sun is not on your plant, very early in the morning or in the evening. This is one of our grower’s progress - don’t panic if yours doesn’t look like this! There’s still time!

This is our kind of guy! Thanks, Sarah
06/19/2025

This is our kind of guy! Thanks, Sarah

One month in! How are your babies doing? This is from one of our award winnahs, Leon - who’s off to a good start! And so...
06/19/2025

One month in! How are your babies doing? This is from one of our award winnahs, Leon - who’s off to a good start! And sorry for the duplicate on FB - I need a youngster to school me in the ways of social media.

Last year we followed Mason’s pumpkin from baby to award-winnah! With a wee bit of help from Dad Leon, his pumpkins are ...
06/17/2025

Last year we followed Mason’s pumpkin from baby to award-winnah! With a wee bit of help from Dad Leon, his pumpkins are off to a smashing start! Send us updates on yours!

So it’s been almost 3 weeks since you adopted your new baby! How is parenting working out? Are you remembering to give i...
06/05/2025

So it’s been almost 3 weeks since you adopted your new baby! How is parenting working out? Are you remembering to give it good formula and light? You can head over to our website for growing tips (mainepumpkinfest.com). Post your updates to us!

Seedlings are still available at Louis Doe Homecenter and Damariscotta Hardware. Grow a giant to be displayed during t...
05/31/2025

Seedlings are still available at Louis Doe Homecenter and Damariscotta Hardware. Grow a giant to be displayed during the festival. Get growing 🎃

Great article about the ‘Fest in this years Visitors Guide! If you haven’t come to Pumpkinfest, it’s not to be missed! D...
05/30/2025

Great article about the ‘Fest in this years Visitors Guide! If you haven’t come to Pumpkinfest, it’s not to be missed! Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce

Ok people, we present to you the winning T-shirt design for Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta 2025! Congrats to Zuri! ...
05/24/2025

Ok people, we present to you the winning T-shirt design for Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta 2025! Congrats to Zuri! Zuriel Smith, a 15 year old student from Newcastle, attends Boothbay Region High School where she is a member of the field hockey, track and field, and math teams. Since she was young, Zuri has always loved to draw and create art and especially enjoys using digital mediums. A huge fan of the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta, which she attends every year, Zuri is thrilled that her design will represent the festival this year.

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Our Story

Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta is a uniquely spirited event that provides education to young and old, and also an economic boost to this rural, coastal community. Our intent is to expand annually, as has been the case since our inception in 2007.

Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta is an innovative program that promotes horticultural education to gardeners of all ages regarding the specific agricultural science required to grow Atlantic Giant Pumpkins. This program culminates each year in a family-oriented festival, held for ten days in early October through Columbus Day weekend, to showcase the pumpkin growers achievements in a number of creative ways. Damariscotta is a small Maine town whose economic basis is fishing and tourism. Each year Pumpkinfest attracts between 10-15,000 visitors providing a substantial influx of commerce to the area.

The educational mission of Pumpkinfest is accomplished in a number of ways. Each Spring, 50 third-grade students at local Great Salt Bay School volunteer their time to fill 600 pots with soil and amendments for each year’s seeds. More than 400 volunteer-growers grow those plants which are distributed free of charge during “Seedling Sunday”. Detailed, written growing instructions are provided during that event, plus monthly “Pumpkinfest newsletter” tips and techniques. In addition, horticultural presentations are given to intergenerational partnerships of retirees and local school children who are interested in learning about growing giant pumpkins.

Quantifiable pumpkin evaluation measures include weight data collected at the annual October weigh-off – which is officially sanctioned by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC). Detailed data is collected on the genetics of the free Atlantic Giant Pumpkin plants which are distributed each Spring at Seedling Sunday, and which then return to the weigh-off in October as 200-1,400 pound pumpkins. Seeds from the largest, hardiest pumpkins are dried & planted in the subsequent year, for the purpose of high grading the overall stock.