Sebago Spirits Festival returning at new venue

By Kaysa Jalbert

The summer is winding down but not before the Sebago Spirits Festival comes back for another event packed with sipping on spiritous liquor from 10 different local distilleries as well as food, music and fun for community members and people from all around to enjoy.

This year the event will take place at Dundee Park in Windham from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. Participants can expect live music from the band “Ragged Jack,” who recently announced they will be retiring at the end of this year. It makes this event a special opportunity for any fans of the band to see them play one of their final shows ever.

The local food truck Top Dog will be there with hot dogs, while a second food truck Cob's Dogs Street Food will sell burgers and pulled pork. The event will also have classic corn hole games and will include participation from a variety of local vendors. Etched Glass will be available with the Sebago Spirits Festival logo to take home as a special souvenir.

“When we decided to do the Sebago Spirits Festival, we thought that the brew fest seems to be done by a lot of different organizations, so we thought well, what can we do that’s a little bit different than beer?” said Robin Mullins, President and CEO of the Sebago Lakes Region of Commerce. “We know there’s a lot of great local distillers, so we decided to do something to power the local distillers and bring something different to the community and that’s how it all got started.”

Local distillers at the event will feature Baston River Brewing & Distilling; Chadwick’s Craft Spirits; Cold River; Hardshore Distilling; Liquid Riot Bottling Co.; Mossy Ledge Spirits; New England Distilling; Split Rock Distilling; Three of Strong Spirits; and Wiggly Bridge.

According to Mullins, distillers will bring their alcohol of choice and share favorite recipes. Some will make cocktails and others will have you taste their products straight up.

“You are one-on-one with the distillers, and it gives people an opportunity to find out more about the alcohol they are distilling and what the process is,” says Mullins.

“We want people to come and have fun and importantly, be responsible,” said Mullins.

The Sebago Lakes Region of Commerce launched the annual Sebago Spirits Festival in 2019 and has been sponsoring the event every year, even during the pandemic since the event is held outside. The festival has previously been held at Point Sebago, but that venue no longer hosts events that are alcohol related.

Mullins said that the Windham Parks and Recreation Department has helped move the festival this year to Dundee Park in Windham. She said the Chamber of Commerce is optimistic that the new location will be more accessible for those coming from distant locations such as from Massachusetts and Portland, and that goal is to also open up the event to new participants from the community.

A committee from Sebago Lakes Chamber of Commerce has helped to organize the event, along with local business owners.

The chamber is grateful for the help of committee members such as Linda Brooks of Windham Parks and Recreation Director, Ned Wight of New England Distilling, and Ruth York of Point Sebago, who enjoys the festival so much that she decided to stay on to help this year as well.

To attend the festival, you must be 21 or older and identification will be checked. No pets are allowed.

General admission tickets are $40 and can be purchased by visiting:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sebago-spirits-festival-2023-tickets-673836281457

A reduced-price ticket will also be offered at a cost of $15 for people to come as designated drivers and still enjoy the music and vendors. <