ROCKLAND, Maine — The Maine Lobster Festival board of directors has issued an apology for its handling of the 2018 Sea Goddess coronation and has named new leadership.
The apology was directed toward the community and Taylor Hamlin, this year’s Maine Lobster Festival Sea Goddess, who was decrowned just 24 hours after her coronation over social media posts.
Leadership changes include naming Celia Knight the new president of the Maine Lobster Festival board of directors. Outgoing president Cynthia Powell and vice president Michelle Hannan chose not to seek re-election but will continue to volunteer as members of the board of directors, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the Maine Lobster Festival.
“As a board we are continuing to work together to improve. We would also like to offer our sincere apology to Taylor Hamlin and her family, as well as the community for the events that occurred at the 2018 festival. It is my hope that the new leadership team will have the support of the community to make the 2019 Maine Lobster Festival a success,” Knight said in the statement.
Knight said that new leadership is “just one of the many changes that will come to the 2019 festival,” though the statement did not elaborate on other possible changes.
At a September meeting, the members of the Maine Lobster Festival board of directors discussed possible changes to the Sea Goddess competition and coronation that would “modernize” the pageant. Suggestions included opening the competition to young men as well as women.
In a Wednesday statement, the Hamlin family said they appreciate that the new festival leadership is “taking steps to make this right,” adding that they have always supported the festival in the past and are looking forward to the 2019 festival.
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