Preview: Bath Heritage Days

Four days of great live music and entertainment make Bath Heritage Days the destination to help your family celebrate the 4th of July holiday weekend.

"Our parade and fireworks are big and better than anyone else's," says Jennifer Geiger, director of Main Street Bath. "We invest a fair amount of money in the fireworks to make sure it really is a great show."

But the parade and fireworks on July 4 are only one piece of this major downtown Bath tradition.

Events for the four-day weekend kick off on Friday.

They include Brown Dog Studio's "Barn Cats" at 6:30 p.m. at Waterfront Park, followed by the eight-piece blues-rock band Blues Buzzards at 8:30 p.m.

At Library Park, the second venue for musical entertainment, things start on Friday night at 6 p.m. with the traditional sounds of the Bath Municipal Band during the Rotary's chicken barbecue.

The music is one of the don't-miss features of the weekend with a variety of styles and tunes.

Saturday's lineup at Waterfront Park includes Robert Washington's Elvis tribute tunes, the rock-country sounds of Marshall Marquis and Jimmy Buffett tribute band Changes in Latitude.

Other musical performances at Waterfront Park include Anni Clark, Christian Cuff, Sundog, Fifth Freedom, Pat Colwell & The Soul Sensations and the reggae sounds of Mystic Bowie. The Apple Scruffs Beatles tribute band, the Cajun sounds of Jimmy Jo and the Jumbolayuhs and many other bands will perform in Library Park Friday through Monday as well.

"I think we've got a great music lineup and I'm excited about all the bands this year," said Geiger. "We try to provide a platform for the best regional music and many of the bands this year are from the area."

Music won't be the only fun in town. Smokey's Greatest Show and Carnival will be running rides starting at 5 p.m. on Friday and continuing from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday through Monday.

On Saturday, the fireman's muster is an annual event not to be missed, according to Geiger.

"The fireman's muster is extremely entertaining. These muscled guys get so excited and are energetic to pump the water. They parade their hand-tubs through the middle of town to where the muster is held."

The hand-tub parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the muster officially starting at 11 a.m. at the north end of Front Street, between Summer and Linden streets.

Saturday will also feature a farmers market from 8:30 a.m. to noon on the waterfront. The Art in the Park show as well as the Craft Show will be at Library Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Patten Free Library's annual book sale fundraiser will offer a way for patrons to help support the library. Proceeds from the Chili Chowder Fest, starting at 3 p.m. Saturday, will benefit the town skate park.

Sunday's highlight will be the inaugural keel laying at 1 p.m. Area high school students will spend their summer building a replica of the Virginia, the first English-built ship built in the early 1600s in Maine.

"It's really quite exciting to have the keel laying happen at Heritage Days this year," said Geiger.

Sunday will also feature the Front Street Shuffle Antique Car Show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Monday starts with the road race and fun run at 7:45 a.m., followed by the parade at 11 a.m. There should be about 100 entries.

"The parade route is a couple of miles long so while people are waiting for the parade we try to keep them happy," explained Geiger. There will be musicians loitering on street corners along the route before the parade begins. These performers will start their pre-parade wandering at 10 a.m.

The event will wrap up Monday night with the Bath Municipal Band pre-fireworks concert at 8 p.m. at Library Park and the fireworks show at 9 p.m.

"Bath is a tight-knit community but we're very welcoming," said Geiger. "Heritage Days is just a great party."

BATH HERITAGE DAYS
WHEN: July 1-4
WHERE: Bath
HOW MUCH: Free
FOOD OPTIONS: Local businesses and booths around town
PARKING: Downtown as well as a paid lot at the waterfront across from the Hampton Inn.
DON'T MISS: Musical entertainment, parade and fireworks
KID-FRIENDLY FACTOR: Great
BENEFITS: Chili Chowder Fest to benefit the skate park, Strawberry Shortcake Festival to benefit the Cosmopolitan Club and book sale to benefit the Patten Free Library.
IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER: Rain or shine event
MORE INFO: www.bathheritagedays.com


Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram June 26, 2011