Maine’s annual lobster festival is leaving politics at the door this year, barring political parties and politicians from marching in the parade for the first time in its 70-year history.
Festival organizers approved the new policy during a meeting last week, and the parade participation application already reflects the rule change.
“The Maine Lobster Festival Parade is a non-partisan, secular and neutral private event which celebrates our community, our people and our lobsters,” the application states. “Because of this, we will no longer be accepting political applications. We anticipate and appreciate your respect of this policy.”
Cynthia Powell, president of the festival’s board, told the Courier-Gazette that some parade entrants said they didn’t want to march before or after various political groups because they didn’t want to be associated with those groups. She didn’t specify who those groups were.
That reasoning concerns Rockland Mayor Valli Geiger, who wonders how politics became so divisive that some groups apparently don’t feel comfortable walking behind a certain political party, group or politician.
“That seems really sad to me because politics represent us all, and nobody’s the enemy,” she said. “In the history of the festival, we’ve never decided our passions are so strong that we can’t even march in the same parade together.”
Powell argued the rule was fair because all political groups are banned.
A message sent to festival organizers on Monday wasn’t immediately returned. Knox County’s Republican and Democratic committees also didn’t reply to emails Monday.
The parade rules also bar weapons, any use of alcohol or drugs by participants, and require that candy be thrown on the grass and sidewalks, not the road.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.
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