PORTLAND – A three-day food and wine festival being held this week in and around Portland represents an attempt by Maine to tap into the market for culinary tourism.

Harvest on the Harbor, which gets under way Thursday, was the brainchild of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland, which hopes to draw as many as 4,000 people.

The event includes food and wine tastings, cooking-related seminars, a culinary marketplace and a black-tie gala dinner. Organizers hope to showcase the area as a food destination while extending the tourist season into the normally quiet period after the Columbus Day weekend.