From Flowers to the Kraken: Hundreds of Father's Day Weekend Gatherings Make a Community
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION—It started with the clanging of weights, wooden barrels being slid onto bars, and the conundrum of just where to park everyone’s car coinciding with the giggle of children running in circles on the grass by the Strongman competition at Currents. People zipped into craft fairs and art booths. At barbecues, toddlers balanced a paper plate like it was the most fragile of treasures. Outside the Mount Desert Island YMCA people pedaled fast and furious to raise money for local food pantries.
By 10 a.m. on Saturday, St. Saviour’s church in Bar Harbor smelled like garden soil, pine needles, and a little bit like sausages being cooked somewhere. Across the island, people teamed up to raise money for the Southwest Harbor-Tremont Ambulance Service, and stood along the sidewalks of Southwest Harbor or the beach of Hull’s Cove to exercise their rights to protest.
The Jesup Memorial Library hosted two sessions of Mr. Drew at the YWCA MDI because so many families wanted to attend. Even with double sessions, they couldn’t fit them all.
It was a weekend-long reminder that on Mount Desert Island and Trenton, Father’s Day weekend isn’t only about dads—it’s about the threads that hold a community together.
From pancake breakfasts and guided hikes to concerts, car shows, and cookouts, Mount Desert Island was alive this Father’s Day weekend with events aimed at more than just celebration—they were about connection and community in a lot of different ways.
In Bar Harbor on Sunday, families gathered under sunny skies and hikes in Acadia National Park, while in Tremont at the Seal Cove Auto Museum, classic cars drew admirers and old friends swapped stories by the fenders. The town also hosted its first farmers market. Across the island, neighbors came together not just to honor fathers, but to build something lasting: community.
As any social media post will prove, community doesn’t always agree, but it always is. That’s important, on Father’s Day and all days, to really remember.
We collected some photos from the weekend and some people gave us permission to use theirs as well.
FOOD FIGHT FUNDRAISER
MR. DREW-SUMMER READING KICKOFF
SOUTHWEST HARBOR-TREMONT AMBULANCE SERVICE MINI-GOLF FUNDRAISER AT GOLF OF MAINE
CLASH OF KRAKENS STRONG MAN COMPETITION AT CURRENTS
FARMER’S MARKETS
WILD GARDENS OF ACADIA PLANT SALE
ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIRS
NO KING’S PROTEST
Unless otherwise specified, all photos Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story. More photos of events are on our Facebook.
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