Lobster Festival planners try to top ’02

ROCKLAND – The people putting on this week’s Maine Lobster Festival say they must sell more than 11 tons of steamed lobster to top last year’s sales record.

It’s just one of the challenges for organizers of the five-day celebration, which opens Wednesday.

“We ought to sell 12 tons this year, I think,” said Ed Kolmosky, president of the festival.

Whether it’s lobster, scallops, shrimp, mussels or clams, there’ll be plenty of fresh Maine seafood on hand to satisfy all souls.

Kolmosky also hopes to top last year’s record attendance: 100,000 people.

There have been “lots more calls” to the Rockland-Thomaston Area Chamber of Commerce seeking information about the festival, he said, and many more hits on the festival’s Web site. He figures interest is up 20 percent this year.

The Maine Sea Goddess coronation occurs at 8 p.m. Wednesday during Home Town Day, when admission is free all day.

Twenty women, dubbed sea princesses, will stroll down the main stage runway that night, each escorted by a sailor from the USS Hue City, which is the visiting Navy ship this year.

The coronation caps a week of competitive events in which contestants are judged for the winning title.

One woman will be crowned Maine Sea Goddess 2003 and will walk away with a $2,500 cash prize. She also will represent the Maine Lobster Festival throughout the ensuing year. The runner-up will become crown princess, which includes a $1,500 cash prize.

For those who love country music, this year’s headliner is country music sweetheart Lee Ann Womack.

Womack will perform at 8:30 p.m. Thursday on the main stage.

Other entertainment on tap for the festival includes the Neville Brothers on Saturday night and the rock group Orleans and contemporary folk group Devonsquare of Portland on Friday night.

One of the festival favorites is the Saturday parade, which kicks off at 10 a.m. down Main Street. Crazy clowns, antique cars, siren-screaming fire engines and marching bands are planned.

The big draw Sunday is the Great International William Atwood Lobster Crate Race, which starts at 2 p.m. at the waterfront. Contestants vie for the winning title by racing back and forth across a string of 50 lobster crates for as long as possible without falling into the harbor.