Benton Alewife Festival

Benton Alewife Festival Benton is proud to have the largest Alewife run on the east coast!

The Benton Alewife Festival is a celebration of the annual Alewife harvest and successful fish elevator program, featuring a number of free activities that focus on the Maine outdoors.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the festival on Saturday, we had beautiful weather and a spectacular turnout! If ...
05/21/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to the festival on Saturday, we had beautiful weather and a spectacular turnout! If you have photos of the event that you'd like to share, please send them to us and we might feature them on our page!

Tomorrow is the big day!For the first time in years, the weather looks like it will be absolutely beautiful this Saturda...
05/15/2026

Tomorrow is the big day!
For the first time in years, the weather looks like it will be absolutely beautiful this Saturday! So start making your plans to join us for the Benton Alewife Festival!

We‘ll have a range of family friendly activities including:
Steel Revolution Steel Drum Band, and fiddle band - The Oystermen!
Ice cream from Stone Fox Farm and Bolley’s Hot Dogs
Face painting, games, arts & crafts, and Fish Printing!
T-shirts from Liberty Graphics!
Exhibitors and demonstrations
And don’t miss your chance to see the fish elevator in action!
See you tomorrow, Saturday, May 16th! 11am-3pm
Benton Town Office, Riverfront Park

The fish are arriving, the eagles are overhead, and the harvest is about to begin! Join us for a day of fun at the Bent...
05/11/2026

The fish are arriving, the eagles are overhead, and the harvest is about to begin! Join us for a day of fun at the Benton Alewife Festival this Saturday May 16th! We have a great lineup including the Steel Revolution steel drum band, the Oystermen, tours to see the fish elevator, Liberty Graphics Nature T-shirts, free arts and crafts activities, free Bolleys Famous Franks! Stone Fox Farm ice cream will be for sale from Mobile Cone. Look for our fish signs around town to find your way to the festival!

Saturday May 16th, 11-3pm
Benton Riverfront Park
1279 Clinton Ave, Benton

The fish are here! The first alewives have made it all the way from the ocean to the Sebasticook River and are making t...
05/06/2026

The fish are here! The first alewives have made it all the way from the ocean to the Sebasticook River and are making their way through the fish elevator and over the dam.
Soon, after 200,000 fish pass through the fish counter, the fishermen can begin harvesting. The timing of this is different every year due to the weather and water levels, but it is often during the first week of May.

See you at the festival! May 16th, 11-3

Look what’s rolling off the presses! Thank you to Liberty Graphics Nature T-shirts for working with us this year to mak...
05/05/2026

Look what’s rolling off the presses! Thank you to Liberty Graphics Nature T-shirts for working with us this year to make our t-shirts!

Benton Alewife Festival
Saturday May 16th, 11-3
at the Benton Riverfront Park

Tours to the dam will be back again this year! Visitors can catch the shuttle bus at the festival or a walking tour alo...
04/22/2026

Tours to the dam will be back again this year! Visitors can catch the shuttle bus at the festival or a walking tour along the river.
Also returning will be:
Fish Printing!
Kennebec Messalonskee Trails
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust
Maine Rivers
Smokey Bear and the Maine Forest Service
The Arnold Expedition Historical Society
Ken Hamilton Living History
Beekeeper Mark Reifschneider
Bird and Fish Woodcarver Steve Valleau
Sisters of St. Joseph Nature Sanctuary

We will have FREE Bolley’s Famous Franks at the festival this year! Thank you to Bolley’s and our generous supporters w...
04/22/2026

We will have FREE Bolley’s Famous Franks at the festival this year! Thank you to Bolley’s and our generous supporters who are helping to make this happen!
Free beverages provided by Dixon's Country Market
And thanks to Rita’s Catering for doing the grilling!

Benton Alewife Festival:
Saturday May 16th, 11am-3pm
Benton Riverfront Park
1279 Clinton Ave, Benton, ME 04901

The Benton Alewife Festival is only about a month away! We are excited to bring back familiar favorites like face painti...
04/11/2026

The Benton Alewife Festival is only about a month away! We are excited to bring back familiar favorites like face painting, living history, live music, nature trail walks, and tours of the dam, plus some new activities!

Don’t miss the chance to get creative and make your own fish print to take home! We’ll also have free hot dogs (huge thanks to Bolley’s Hot Dogs and Rita’s Catering!), local products, and Stone Fox Creamery ice cream truck.
There’s something for everyone!

Save the date:
May 16th, 11 AM – 3 PM
Benton Town Office
1279 Clinton Ave, Benton, ME 04901

Address

1279 Clinton Avenue
Benton, ME
04901

Telephone

(207) 453-7191

Website

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