Bucksport’s Bay Festival in question due to budget and staffing

Bucksport’s one-day Bay Festival draws thousands of visitors. But staffing issues and its $31,000 price tag is raising questions about whether it can be held next year. File photo.

By Emily Baer

The future of Bucksport’s Bay Festival is in question after this week’s Economic Development Committee meeting.

Rich Rotella, the town’s Community & Economic Development director, asked the committee to consider the possibility of handing the planning and execution of the festival off to a local organization or coalition of community groups, saying the town is facing both budget and staff capacity limitations.

“I’d really like to see it continue,” he said. “We have everything—the documents, the spreadsheets—that they would need [to take over].” Rotella said he has reached out to groups such as Wednesdays on Main, The Village, and the Bucksport Bay Business Coalition about organizing a plan to manage the festival.

Whoever takes over the festival would also be responsible for fundraising, Rotella said. He offered to be a resource and a volunteer for future efforts but would not be actively involved in the lead-up to the festival.

“It takes a lot of time, a lot of dedication, and a lot of people to run it,” he said. 

Finding community volunteers to help staff the event has been a growing challenge, Rotella said. Organizers have relied heavily on student volunteers and town staff over the years but interest from the general public for volunteer opportunities has waned. Due to changes in staff roles within the town office, there is no longer capacity to plan, manage, and staff the event, Rotella said.

The annual festival has grown considerably over the past three years, drawing thousands to the waterfront for a day-long event that features free live music, food trucks, a car show, a kids play area, a quilt show, and fireworks. It has traditionally taken place on the third Saturday of July. No date has been set for 2026.

“We have done it so that [the event] is free and really caters to everyone,” Rotella said, adding that a future iteration wouldn’t “have to be full blown like the town has done it.”

Rotella acknowledged that budget was a driving factor in the town’s decision to step away.

“We have to be really wise in what we do and one of the big pieces of feedback we got [regarding the budget] was about the Bay Festival,” he said. 

The event costs roughly $31,000. Historically, the town has contributed $20,000 with the difference made up by sponsorships. Committee member and town councilor Tracy Hair also noted receiving community feedback about the event as it relates to the budget, saying that the cost is hard to justify for a one-day festival.

If a business took over the festival, it would be responsible for fundraising or financing the event, as well as paying overtime for town services such as for police, fire, and public works personnel, but a nonprofit organization would not, due to a town ordinance.

The Bucksport Bay Business Coalition’s Teri Doty was present at the meeting and indicated a willingness to lead the planning efforts. However, as a town councilor-elect, the committee noted that there may be limitations to how the coalition can be involved as a business while she sits on the council. Such questions would need to be considered by the town’s legal counsel, the committee said.

The committee voted unanimously to recommend further discussion and consideration by the town council during its meeting on Dec. 18.

The committee also discussed changing local ordinances to allow food trucks in town next summer. But due to the influx of new dining options in town, committee members declined to make any changes and postponed indefinitely any further discussion on the matter.