Maine Oyster Festival brings the brine to shore in Freeport

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 28, 2026

Flo Edwards and Alexus Bond have been shucking oysters under a tent and serving them to mollusk enthusiasts from all over the country for three days. Their bounty is helping the 5th annual Maine Oyster Festival reach a new record for oyster sales, which is predicted to be well over last year’s 40,000. The event started in 2021, when a group of oyster farmers approached Visit Freeport to ask about a statewide oyster festival. Dozens of restaurants, artists and marine specialists take over the parking lot behind the iconic L.L.Bean flagship store in Freeport. At any given time during the three-day event, 20 of these tents represented oyster farms.