PITTSFIELD – Corey Brooks Leff came from Ohio with her 11-week-old son. Kristin McCaffney drove over from Keene, N.H. Nick Barter also brought his new daughter from New Hampshire, while Jaime Gray was visiting with his wife and 2-year-old son from Calexico, Calif.

Technically, it was Egg Festival weekend in Pittsfield. But in reality, it’s one big reunion.

Maine’s “brain drain” of the brightest and best has many of the area’s youth living in more profitable areas of the country. But come the end of July, they head home for the Egg Festival and reunions with their families, former classmates and friends.

“People begin calling us in January so they can schedule their vacations around it,” said Eileen Wright at the Pittsfield Town Office.

Coming home is a chance to catch up on local news, show off new babies, fiancees and even a new tattoo.

After the parades, the window painting and even the fireworks had faded Saturday night, a group of “returnees” had a minireunion around a campfire not too far from where they had all gone to high school together.

It was a fitting end to a week of successful Egg Festival events. President Sherry Davis said the chicken barbecue, pizza stand and the Pittsfield Fire Department snack shack all sold out. “We had really good crowds,” she said, noting that the rain stopped Saturday morning just in time for the annual parade. “This was an excellent year,” she said.

Children broke all attendance records at the Egglympics, while they turned out in smaller but just as determined numbers in the window-painting contest and parking-lot art contest.

On Saturday, the parade was over an hour long, replete with marching bands, community bands riding on trucks and a half-dozen creative floats celebrating the egg and this year’s Hawaiian luau theme.

It appeared that all of the carnival and craft events held in Manson Park were also well-attended, according to Sherry Davis, festival president.

A new event, the Pretty Puppy Contest, was extremely popular, Davis said Sunday afternoon. “We expected to get five or six entries,” she said. “We had 30 dogs there and the tent was full of people clapping and laughing. It was hilarious.”

Davis declared the weeklong festival a success and said planning for next year’s theme will begin immediately.