Blueberry bucket headlines Machias, Maine, postmark

Postmark Pursuit by Molly Goad

The annual Wild Blueberry Festival in Machias, Maine, celebrated a milestone this year, and the Centre Street Congregational Church created a postmark to coincide with the festivities.

The postmark image came from the local T-shirt design contest. Artist and designer Paige Speight of Portland, Maine, “won our hearts with her simple, yet elegant display of our favorite fruit,” according to the festival website.

Forty-five years ago, local teen Dwight Whitney Jr. brought about the first festival simply because he thought it would be fun to celebrate the blueberry harvest. The inaugural Machias Wild Blueberry Festival included just a few events and (of course) blueberry pies.

Over the years, the event has grown, even drawing ESPN to broadcast the pie-eating contest a few years ago. The 2022 festival (Aug. 19-21) featured live music, a parade, children’s activities, more than 250 specialty merchants, a blueberry pie-eating contest, a 5-mile run, and blueberry farm tours.

To obtain the postmark, address your request to: MACHIAS WILD BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Machias, ME 04654-9998, Aug. 20.

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