History on the menu

Care for a little Champlain with your Champagne? Then reserve your seats for the Mount Desert Island Historical Society’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s discovery of MDI. The gala will include a re-creation of the French dinner served to commemorate the 350th anniversary of Champlain’s arrival, as well as a silent auction and a presentation by Rick Savage about Champlain’s maritime explorations. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, at the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor. Tickets cost $50 and will be sold through Sept. 4 on a first-come, first-served basis. They are available at the MDI Historical Society or Port in a Storm Bookstore, both in the town of Mount Desert. For information, call Charlotte Singleton at 276-9323 or Port In A Storm Bookstore at 244-4114.

Clawing their way to the top

Lobster – and lots of it – will be the star of Saturday’s World Lobster Eating Festival in Kennebunkport. Sure, the event will feature cooking demonstrations, live music and a chance to indulge your love for lobster, but the real draw is the Kennebunkport Lobster Co.’s World Lobster-Eating Championship, sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Veteran competitors Allen “Shredder” Goldstein (the world bologna-eating champion) and Crazy Legs Conti (of pancake-eating fame), both of New York, along with Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas of Virginia, who is the American hot dog eating champion, will face returning lobster-eating champion Kevin “The Boss” Cross to compete for the coveted “Claw.” There are still spots available for competitors. To register, e-mail lobsters@IFOCE.com For more information on the festival, visit www.worldlobsterfest.com.

Very berry

Got the blues? If you don’t, head Down East for the 29th Annual Machias Blueberry Festival, which takes place Aug. 20-22. The harvest celebration kicks off with a children’s parade and a fish fry (with blueberry pie for dessert) in the parking lot of the Centre Street Congregational Church. Saturday starts with a blueberry pancake breakfast, where runners (and spectators) will fuel up for the Machias Blueberry Run. If you haven’t had your fill of berries, you can check out the blueberry cooking competition or sign up for the blueberry pie- eating contest. For information and a full schedule of events, visit www.machiasblueberry.com.