People from all over Maine, New Brunswick, The USA and Canada are heading for Eastport for the 5th Annual Eastport Pirate Festival and Pirate Invasion of Lubec. This is a celebration of the areas 400 plus years of thalassic heritage, It has become one of the marquee events of summer on the coast of Maine and Atlantic Canada. It all begins Labor Day Weekend in the USA with the Pirate Invasion of Lubec on Saturday, September 4th and finishes with the spectacular First Annual International (Pirate) Lobster Boat Race on Sunday, September 12th.

The Invasion of Lubec kicks off the festival activities every year and happens the weekend before the actual Pirate Festival. The Invasion of Lubec this year happens Labor Day Weekend on Saturday, September 4th. This has grown into a mini Pirate Festival offering a full day of activities of Pirate mayhem with the entire community and visitors alike in full Pirate Costume. The colorful Eastport Pirates will arrive by air, land and sea at approximately 9:30AM for the official Invasion. Lubec will be ready and waiting after a pirate muster breakfast at the Lubec Masonic Lodge starting at 7:30 to 10:00. For those that wish to Participate in the Invasion by boat and tall ship tickets are available from Eastport Windjammers at 853-2500 and Fundy Breeze Charters at 853-4660. Please call in advance to purchase and reserve your tickets because they sell out quickly.

Lubec will have a Pirate Parade at 10:00 AM, their own Pirate Bed Race at 10:30 AM with the winners representing Lubec in the Eastport Bed race the following week. There will be children's activities including a Bounce House and Super Water Slide. The waterfront will be filled with a Pirate Gladiator Joust, Dunk Tank and the First Annual Lubec vs. Eastport Tug of War with the two towns strongest men and women participating. All of Lubec's restaurants and businesses will be hosting a day long Taste-of-Lubec with incredible food a brew available for all participants. Proceeds from many of these events will benefit Lubec's 2011 Bicentennial Celebration which also marks the 200th Anniversary of when Lubec and Eastport separated as one community. There will be water taxi service between Eastport and Lubec for the Invasion and all weekend of the festival.

The Eastport Pirate Festival has quickly grown into the largest pirate themed event in Northern New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Last year an estimated 8000 pirates from the USA, Canada and beyond of all ages, both male and female participated in this fun filled family event. Most of the events are free and friendly on your budget. The backdrop for the festivities is the beautiful island city of Eastport (population 1603). A Pirate's Ball, Pirate's Parade, Pirate's Bed Race, Pirate Ship Parade, Pirate Invasion of Lubec, Pirates Lobster Boat Race, Crowning of the King and Queen, Free music and entertainment, Kid's Pirates Breakfast and day long events, Cutlass and Canon Demonstrations, great food and vendors are just a small part of the 75+ events and offerings that happen all weekend. Everyone including pets are encouraged to dress and speak like a pirate.

New this year will be the first International (Pirate) Lobster Boat Race on Sunday, September 12, the last day of the festival. The race is open to fishermen from both the USA and Canada with a grand prize lottery of $1000.00 that every entry has a shot at just by entering. There will also be a $1000 prize for "Fastest Boat In The World Category that will be decided in the grand finale USA vs. Canada Race. On hand to charge up the excitement will be Galen Alley of Jonesport and his Lobster Boat that goes 70 MPH. Galen will be challenging other boats in a special exhibition race with a $500 prize. Members of the Maine Marine Trades Industry have also donated numerous prizes for this day of events and winners. Lobster Boat Racing started in the 1960's in Jonesport, Maine and there are now 10 sanctioned races in as many towns along the Coast. Lobster Boat Racing is big on the coast of Maine with all of the races drawing thousands of spectators by land and sea with the same enthusiam that you find at NASCAR events. The Eastport Pirate Festival Lobster Boat Race will not be sanctioned as part of the Maine circuit this year, but could be in the future.

"A day at the lobster boat races on the Coast of Maine is a pure adrenalin rush for the contestants and those cheering them on," says Pirate Festival founder John Miller. Whether you’re drawn to the races as a serious competitor, or just to watch from the shore and cheer on your favorite Fisherman... this is a pure and uniquely Maine and The Maritimes event that you will never see anywhere else in the rest of the world. A day at the Pirate Lobster Boat Races will kick your Maine or New Brunswick Blood into high gear ... even if you're from Oklahoma."

The Eastport Pirate Festival kicks into high gear on Friday afternoon, September 10th on the island city's historic waterfront and maintains pure pirate energy for 3 full days in this way Downeast Seaport . Real Pirates sailed the waters around this historic island that was once captured and occupied by the British during the War of 1812.

History on the island that is home to Eastport is thick as mud. Just off its shores is President Franklin Roosevelt's beloved home at Campobello. The little shops on Water Street are the same places Eleanor Roosevelt shopped for groceries and shoes for her children and asked the proprietors' to "send the bill to the White House." The family of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow still operates the nation's oldest ship's chandlery on the waterfront where real pirates most likely bought provisions. It is on these waters where French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed, four centuries ago, and the summering Roosevelt's sailed three centuries later. The first European settlement on St. Croix Island that predate Jamestown, Virginia is a short boat ride up the river. The noble Passamaquoddy People have called this area home for as many as 20,000 years. The word's most famous mustard (Raye's) is produced here and it is not uncommon to see the faces of America's most famous celebrities and politicians quietly blending in with the locals.

Every year the Pirates of the Dark Rose, a professional Pirate performance group brings the Pirate Theme to life in the streets of this historic seaport. From stage performances, cutlass and canon demonstrations to the firing of black powder with lots of boom-boom these incredible performers are in full character all weekend to keep you entertained and in the mood. The downtown performance stage at Bank Square will be alive non-stop all three days with live music and performances that will provide visitors with lots of free entertainment. It is time once again to get your Pirate on at the Eastport Pirate Festival 2010.

Saturday morning September 11th is geared towards Pirate Kids with a Bloodthirsty's Tavern Kid's Buffet Breakfast at the Blue Iris Restaurant ( $4.50 for kids) kicking off the day. There will be a Pirate Kid's Schooner ride on the Tall ship Sylvina Beal (tickets are $15.00 reservations 853-2500), Kids and Youth Pirate Pageant, Kids games and an evening performance at the Arts center by the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers of the production, Everybody Loves Pirates.

The Thieves Market with great bargains will be offered all weekend at participating "Pirate Friendly" merchants. The streets will also have a great variety of food, crafts and treasure vendors. The local restaurants, bars and other businesses will have Pirate themed specials and events all weekend long.

The Eastport Pirate Bed Race is still recruiting teams. Rules and registration forms can be found on the Pirate Festival Website. Last year bed race teams from both the USA and Canada competed. This fast paced event always attracts thousand of spectators. The Pirate Parade is open to everyone with a pirate themed entry and the Pirates Ball at the Chowder House on Friday evening is truly the social event of the season on Passamaquoddy bay with hundreds of people in full costume. The crowning of the King and Queen of the Pirates happens at the Pirates Ball. Saturday evening offers up at least a dozen pirate themed events at all of the restaurants, pubs, bars and eateries around the tiny city of Eastport.

"After five short years the word is out throughout all of Christendom that the Eastport Pirate Festival is the place to be the second weekend in September here on the planet," says Festival Chairman Ross Furman. " I was in Florida this winter and people there were talking about coming to Eastport for the Pirate Festival. They were planning on coming for the Pirate Invasion of Lubec and Salmon Sunday the week before (Labor Day Weekend) and staying all week for the Pirate Festival. On Wednesday, September 8th, US Coast Guard Station Eastport will be hosting a joint rescue exercise with the Canadian Coast Guard. The Eastport waterfront will provide ringside seats to observe some of these thrilling and dramatic helicopter rescue exercises. These events are certainly great for our local economy on both sides of the border. If you are going to be on Planet Earth between September 4th and 12th - Eastport and Lubec are the top spots to be."

The Ferry Service that connects New Brunswick and Maine will be running from Deer Island Point to Eastport for the Pirate Festival September 10-12 and for the Invasion of Lubec to Campobello from Deer Island on September 4 - a great way for our relatives, neighbors and friends from New Brunswick to participate. For those coming by car, not to worry, a causeway was built in the last century for easy driving access to this incredible island paradise. For those that want to fly-in, the Eastport Airport can handle all planes and most jets with jet-fuel fuel service. People coming by private boat will find full marina service at the Eastport Chowder House complete with laundry, showers, docking, gasoline, food, grog and a lobster pound with easy access to the local market.

"Not only is this event attended by thousands of people of all ages, it also enjoys the support of several dozen dedicated volunteers that work year round and almost 200 businesses and individuals from as far away as Florida that contribute generously making it possible for over 90% of the events to be free for everyone," says organizer and treasurer Christopher Wadsworth Brown. " Our Gold Sponsors this year are Calais Computer Plus, Husson University - The Boat School - Unobskey College, Mayo's Funeral Home, Allen's Coffee Brandy, Eastport Port Authority, Rossport Farms, Keithe & Chick Moore and Rossport Farms."

For those wishing to obtain vendor information, Lobster Boat Race info, Bed Race info, The Invasion of Lubec Schedule or for complete information and schedsule of events of the 2010 Eastport Pirate Festival visit their Website at www.eastportpiratefestival.com call Chris Brown at 207-853-4343 or John Miller at 1-800-691-8182.