Maine Tasting Center, located at 506 Old Bath Rd, Wiscasset, ME, 04578, will host the first annual Maine Needham Festival on Saturday, September 30. This new family-friendly event celebrates the cultural and culinary tradition of Maine Needhams with food, games, vendors, themed drink specials, Needham-making demonstrations and classes, and even a homemade Needham contest. Not sure what a Needham is? Also known as ‘potato candy,’ Needhams are a confection consisting of a coconut and potato filling covered in chocolate. With a history dating back 150 years, Needhams have long been one of Maine’s favorite sweet treats.
Earlier this year, Representative Maggie O’Neil proposed a bill that would designate the last Saturday of September as ‘Maine Needham Day.’ On March 24, that bill was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills, creating an annual day of commemoration for this historic treat and the small businesses that have kept it going for well over a century. Motivated by this official recognition, Malaika and Gerard Picard, owners of Maine Needham Company in Saco, promptly convened a committee that would plan the first festival to celebrate Maine Needham Day.
The festival is intended to be a day of celebration centered around the culinary tradition of the Maine Needham, Maine potatoes, and, of course, Maine itself. “There are many candymakers here in Maine that carry on the Needham tradition and we’re thrilled to have so many of them participating in the festival – as vendors, sponsors, and even as judges for our homemade Needham contest!” says festival coordinator and Maine Needham Company owner Malaika Picard. Robin’s Confections (Biddeford, ME) and Bixby Chocolate (Rockland, ME) are two such candymakers, who will both be participating as vendors, judges, and as top-level sponsors of the event. Other vendors and sponsors include Hilltop Boilers Maple Syrup (Newfield, ME), Wilbur’s of Maine (Freeport, ME), the Scone Goddess (Northport, ME).
Maine Tasting Center joined the festival planning committee early on, offering up space on its newly renovated campus for the event. “Our entire purpose is to educate about and promote Maine’s food industries and producers, so participating in this event was an easy decision for us!” says Maine Tasting Center general manager Sara Gross. “We’re really excited to help bring this community celebration to life.” Amongst the festival’s many attractions are Needham-making demonstrations led by Maine Tasting Center Culinary Director Liz Gross, and even a hands-on Needham-making class. Other activities include shopping from a wide variety of candy and craft vendors, balloon twisting, face painting, a potato sack race sponsored by Blue Earth Bags, live music by local favorite Jud Caswell, food trucks, and much more.
Planning for the festival is well underway but additional support is needed to make it the best it can be. The committee continues to seek sponsors, vendors, volunteers and homemade Needham contest competitors. Interested in participating in one of these ways? Learn more and sign up at meneedhamfest.com
Thanks to its generous sponsors, the 1st Annual Maine Needham Festival will be free to attend. While attendance is free, tickets will be required for entrance to the festival in order to control traffic flow and ensure parking availability. “I would recommend that anyone who hopes to attend claims their tickets online sooner rather than later!” says General Manager Sara Gross. “Only a limited number are available and they’re already going fast – we anticipate that they’ll be completely ‘sold out’ by the day of the festival.” Tickets can be reserved at meneedhamfest.com.
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Maine Needham Company, a candy company intent on preserving, revitalizing and expanding the tradition of the Maine Needham, is proud to participate in the 1st Annual Maine Needham Festival as the production sponsor. Learn more about Maine Needham Company and their products at maineneedhams.com.