Blueberry Festival

Contest Rules:

Wild Blueberry Dessert Contest
Two-Crusted Wild Blueberry Pie

2024 Union Fair Blueberry Festival Schedule

Schedule is subject to change

Wednesday, July 10

2:00 a.m. - 4:00 pm -Two-Crusted Wild Blueberry Pie entries Accepted (18)
4:30 pm - Two-Crusted Wild Blueberry Pie Judging (18)
6:30 p.m. - Maine Wild Blueberry Queen Coronation (28)

Thursday, July 11

2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Wild Blueberry Dessert Entries Accepted (18)
4:30 p.m. - Wild Blueberry Dessert Contest Judging (18)

Friday, July 12

1:00 p.m. - Free individual blueberry pie desserts (18) (while supplies last)

Click here for a map of the fairgrounds.

About the Wild Blueberry Festival

The Maine Wild Blueberry Festival at Union Fair was born in 1960 as a method of promoting the industry in Maine. The secondary goal of the festival was to find the best blueberry pie maker in the coastal area. Mrs. George Cole won that competition. Another feature of that original festival day was the junior pie eating contest won by Willard Pease. Choosing a Blueberry Queen became an added feature in 1961. Each contestant had to be sponsored by a blueberry packer or processor and would be chosen to represent the industry for a year. There were 13 contestants and Monalee Smith became Union Fair’s first queen. Union Fair was so committed to the festival that it petitioned legislature which formally changed our title to Union Fair, Maine Wild Blueberry Festival.

Flash forward 50 plus years and see that much has not changed about the festival but a good number of features have been added. You will still be able to see youngsters compete to see who can eat the most pie in a given amount of time. You will still be able to watch the judging to see who wins the coveted title of best pie baker, though there are also contests for best blueberry muffin and blueberry dessert. Young people ages 6-15 also have a baking category of their own. We still crown the Blueberry Queen to represent the industry throughout the year but now she has her own Facebook page!

Several years ago Blueberry Acres was built as a permanent home for the festival. There you will find displays of harvesting equipment, varied blueberry food products, and a patch of wild blueberries growing in the back yard for people who think bushes grow waist high. This is the site for the free blueberry dessert which is a feature that began in 1960. We so wish we had counted how many thousands of pies we have given away! The Queen’s Corner can be found there where children (or adults) can have their picture taken with the queen. And if you have not had enough of everything blueberry you might want to try your hand at blowing bubbles with blueberry gum or spitting berries for distance. Union Fair is proud of this long standing feature of our fair.

Contact: blueberryfestival@unionfair.org