The Maine Lobster Festival kicks off in Rockland, ME from July 29 - Aug 2, 2009. Seafood lovers from all corners of the world come to Rockland to enjoy the world's premier lobster fest.

You can see above Matt Dority from Atlanta, Ga., and Yoshie Ojima from Japan enjoy their lobsters near the sea wall.

And to the right, that's Sharon Jordan of Hampden, working on her lobster fettuccine, which snared her the first prize in the Seafood Cooking Contest.

What makes the Maine Lobster Festival so unique? Well, it could be the over 20,000 pounds of lobster which gets cooked in the world's biggest lobster cooker. Or maybe it's the novelty of the sea goddess.

Could also be the cooking contests, the international crate race, or the 'all you can eat pancakes'. Oh, and the road races, navy ship tours, art exhibits, hundreds of vendors...

The list goes on a long way, but I'm sure you get the drift. The Maine Lobster Festival is one of the biggest attractions in Rockland, and it's aiming to be even bigger and better this year.

With a gazillion activities scheduled over 5 fun-filled days, it's difficult to list everything, but these are the main events scheduled for the 2009 Maine Lobster Fest.

Food - Enjoy your lobster dinner in the Miane eating tent with a view of Penobscot Bay. The menu also calls for steamed and fried clams, fried Maine shrimp, shrimp cocktail, steamed mussels in wine and vegetable sauce, along with various other Maine-style summer cooking - Take your pick.

Crate Race - One of the biggest events that takes place during the fest is the international crate race. You have to run over partially submerged lobster crates, and winner is the one who manages to cross the most number of crates before getting dunked into the frigid waters of the Atlantic.

Cooking Contest - Amateur cooks trying out their recipes - as much fun to watch as it is to eat what they cook up.

Parade - The Big Parade starts at 10 am on Saturday, Aug 1, and rolls down Rockland's main st, with over 25,000 cheering spectators. Includes the newly crowned Sea Goddess, all of the Sea Princesses and their Naval escorts, and King Neptune and his Court, along with a variety of bands, marching units, colorful floats, drill teams, vehicles and much more!

Music & Entertainment - No shortage of this in the schedule, with jazz, comedy, oldies, celtic, reggae, folk and blues from such hot performers like Celtic fiddling sensation Natalie MacMaster, special guests Enter The Haggis and a surprise guest who'll be performing 'The Stones Experience' - a tribute to the Rolling Stones.

There's plenty more action, including road races, arts and crafts, and special activities for kids - like the little diaper derby, 1-mile run and Cod Fish Curry (that's a Sunday special fun event for kids).

Ticketing - Wednesday is "Hometown Day" – Festival is open from 12 noon to 10pm – admission to the grounds is free. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – admission to the grounds is $8 all day long; ages 6-11–admission is $2 (all $2 admission fees are reserved for Recreation Fund); children 5 and under are free.

Travel Info - Rockland is a 4 hour drive from Boston and less than 2 hours from Portland. You can also take the train from Brunswick to Rockland with Maine Eastern Railroad. The festival grounds at 1 Harbor Park are easy to find.

This is the 62nd Annual Maine Lobster Festival, and if you need a place to stay, they'e pretty much organized for it, and there's no shortage of hotels in Rockland, along with every other kind of facility for visitors.

If you want to combine a little tourism, then historic Rockland is the perfect place to get to know the real Maine.

There's ferry service to the islands, specialty stores, excellent restaurants, art galleries, the Farnsworth Art Museum, and the new Maine Lighthouse Museum. And of course, there's the incomparable scenic beauty of Penobscot Bay.

Photo credits - Rockland Harbor photo by chrise3314 (creative commons). All other photos courtesy Maine Lobster Festival (Sharon Jordan, Matt Dority & Yoshie Ojima photos by Kelly Woods, crate race photo by The Herald-Gazette / www.VillageSoup.com).