Out-of-state visitors spent a total of $6.5bn in 2019. With festivals and fairs cancelled, the beachy state is bracing for an economic hit
The Maine Lobster festival is not for the faint of heart. Tens of thousands of people travel to Rockland, Maine – a town of about 7,000 full-time residents along the southern coast of the state – to attend the salty affair every year. The event, immortalized by David Foster Wallace in Consider the Lobster, features carnival rides, cooking competitions, a Sea Goddess beauty pageant and, of course, a lot of lobster.
No Sea Goddess will be crowned this year. With the Covid-19 crisis rapidly spreading throughout tNew England, the festival has been cancelled. While the lobsters have been spared for another year, the communities that rally around the seasonal event are bracing for a hard hit.
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