OQUOSSOC – The Annual Oquossoc Day will be celebrating boats, planes and the area’s sporting heritage all day and will be topped off with a potluck and dance.
The events kick off at 10 a.m. Saturday with art, antiques and the little wooden boat show at Stony Batter Station and the Oquossoc (Saddleback) Marina.
The Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum is holding a dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. for the fourth new exhibit of the summer, “The Maine Warden Service.” Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Chandler Woodcock and state Sen. Tom Saviello will be attending the dedication, said Bill Pierce, executive director of the museum.
The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and will also feature L.L. Bean’s locked-antler, twin full-mounted bull moose exhibit titled, “The Final Charge.”
The Warden Service’s Operation Game Thief mobile exhibit, as well re-enactors portraying the area’s famed natives Carrie Stevens and Fly Rod Crosby will also be on hand.
“It’s a big day here in Oquossoc with a lot of events going on in the village all day long,” Pierce said.
Among the activities is the longtime favorite parade of airplanes and Sink the Bismarck contest. Organizer-pilot Perry Williams said planes will fly over a pontoon boat anchored in the lake with a inner tube “target” perched on top and try to hit the target with “something” thrown from the plane, Williams said.
The event begins at 2 p.m. with a parade of planes flying in formation. Next, one by one, the planes take turns “dropping their ‘bombs,'” he said, trying to hit the target, but don’t actually sink the Bismarck. Williams said he’s got eight, mostly float planes lined up to participate on Saturday. The public’s best viewing is at the Oquossoc Marina and it takes about 30 minutes for all the bomb attempts to be completed.
All the events to take place as part of Oquossoc Day are within easy walking distance at the center of the village.
The schedule of Oquossoc Day events (all water events take place in Oquossoc Cove):
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Outdoor Sporting Museum Museum open
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Art and Antique Show, Stony Batter Station
10 a.m. – Little Wooden Boat Show; land and slip displays at Oquossoc Marina (also known as Saddleback Marina)
11 a.m. – Maine Warden Service dedication at the Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum
11 a.m. – Dog show line-up at Oquossoc Grocery
11:30 a.m. – Doggie Garden Parade, Oquossoc Grocery and by Rangeley’s Animal Shelter. (T-shirts will be sold to support the shelter.)
11:20 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Music in Oquossoc Cove
11:30 am – Registration for Sailing Race and Wooden Canoe Sailing Race
Noon – Sailing Race, open division and Wooden Canoe Sailing Race
1 p.m. –Judged Boat parade
2 p.m. – Parade of airplanes and the Sink the Bismarck contest
6 p.m. Cocktails, potluck finger foods and desserts at Oquossoc Marine
7-9:30 p.m. Dance with Jump City Band at Oquossoc Marine
8:15 p.m. Raffle drawing & silent auction.
