Twilight League golf
Houlton Community Golf Course runs a Monday night twilight league through the season, with mixed formats and post-round gatherings at the clubhouse. Visitors are welcome to ask about a guest spot.
What’s on
The county through the year
Aroostook County keeps a tight, hard calendar: canoe races in April, fairs in July and August, a full snowmobile season in the deep of winter, and a town meeting every March. Here is the shape of the year.
Dates below are the most recent published ones. Fairs and festivals publish their own schedules and change them from year to year — always confirm on the organiser’s site before you drive.
December – March
Winter
Long nights, deep snow and a lake that turns into a highway. Most of the action is indoors or on the trail.
December
Presque Isle Holiday Light Parade
A holiday tradition that turns historic Main Street into a corridor of lights. Free, and aimed at families.
435 Main St, Presque Isle · Saturday, December 6, 2026
December
Veterans’ graves and the town office
The town office traditionally places wreaths on the town’s veterans’ graves, and volunteers are welcome to help. The office also closes for the Christmas week.
New Limerick · call the town office for the date
January – March
Snowmobile season
The Maine Snowmobile Association runs a statewide club network with hundreds of miles of groomed trail. Local operators and lodges around New Limerick, Cochran Camp and the Katahdin region groom their own corridors, and trail conditions change weekly.
Across Northern Maine · mainesnowmobileassociation.com ↗
Late March
Annual Town Meeting
New Limerick’s annual town meeting is the town’s biggest civic event of the year. The polls are usually open in the afternoon for the secret-ballot election of an MSAD #70 director and a selectman for three-year terms, with the rest of the warrant articles taken up in open session in the evening. In 2026 the meeting was held on Monday, March 30.
New Limerick Town Office · (207) 532-3303 for the current warrant
April – June
Spring
Ice-out, mud season, then the first paddles on the water. The river wakes up first.
April
Meduxnekeag River Canoe Race
A decades-old harbinger of spring. An eight-mile race that begins in New Limerick and finishes in Houlton, run on the river from this town down to the finish line near the county seat. It is the seventh race of the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization’s Down River Point Series, and it has drawn close to a hundred paddlers from around the state.
Start: New Limerick · Finish: Houlton · Late April
April
Nickerson Lake ice-out
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands publishes historic ice-out dates for lakes across the state — and Nickerson Lake is one of them, a useful local benchmark for when the open water season really begins.
Nickerson Lake · historic ice-out recorded in late April
May – June
Maple season
Maple sugaring runs through the villages of New Limerick, Linneus, Hodgdon and Ludlow as the nights stay cold and the days warm up.
Southern Aroostook · late February into April
Mid-June
Paddling season opens
Riversbend Paddle in Houlton opens for the season, offering kayaks on the Meduxnekeag River and delivered launches at Nickerson Lake and Meduxnekeag Lake. The Lily Pad Paddle — a self-guided two-mile route through lily pads on the South Branch — is the summer favourite.
431 Bangor St, Houlton · riversbendpaddle.com ↗
July – August
Summer
Fair season. Two fairs within forty minutes of the town, plus the best light in the north.
July 10–12
Houlton Agricultural Fair
One of the oldest and best-running summer traditions in the state, seven miles from New Limerick. Truck and tractor pulls, a demolition derby, world-class livestock showings, local art, and the fair food that the whole county argues about — golden doughboys above all.
95 Randall Ave, Houlton, ME 04730 · ticketed
July 14–15
Nordic Trail Festival
A summer celebration of mountain biking, trail running and outdoor recreation at the Northern Maine Community Trails in Presque Isle.
Northern Maine Community Trails, Presque Isle
August 2 (2025)
Bridge to Hope Cardboard Boat Race
The first annual cardboard boat race was held at Crescent Park on Nickerson Lake, with a rain date the following day. It is the kind of small, community-run event that makes the lake feel like home — watch the lake community’s site for the next one.
Crescent Park, New Limerick
August 5–9
Northern Maine Fair
The county’s biggest agricultural fair — a wholesome family country fair with tractor pulls, a demolition derby, a baby beef auction, 4-H exhibits, crafters, kids’ games, free monster truck rides, the Lumberjack Roundup, live music and vendors.
84 Mechanic St, Presque Isle, ME 04769 · ticketed
August 7–9
International Muskie Derby
An annual family event at the northern tip of the county, on the shores of Lake Wentworth at Fort Kent.
Fort Kent, ME
August 14–16
Ultimate ATV Event
The Star City Riders’ off-road trail-riding weekend, with clubhouse base at Niles Road in Presque Isle and a prize drawing.
38 Niles Rd, Presque Isle · donation
August 28–30
Crown of Maine Balloon Festival
Presque Isle has the ballooning history — the Double Eagle II launch site is right there — and the festival is the celebration of it. Balloon launches, fireworks, and a full weekend of street activity.
Presque Isle, ME 04769
September – November
Autumn
Harvest, then the fastest colour change in the state. The woods turn from the north woods down.
September – October
Potato harvest
Aroostook is the “Garden of Maine,” and the harvest is a machine-heavy, weeks-long event across the flat farmland. This is when you see the county at full production — and when the roads are busy with trailers.
Across Aroostook County’s farmland
Late September – early October
Fall foliage
The maples and birches turn first in the higher ground to the north, and the colour moves south as the season settles in. The North Woods and the Katahdin region see peak colour first; the farmland around New Limerick follows.
Katahdin region first, farmland later
September – October
Football weekends
Hodgdon Middle/High School plays its home games in the district that New Limerick shares, and high school sports are a genuine part of the winter calendar in this part of Maine.
Hodgdon · MSAD #70 sports ↗
November
Thanksgiving and the season’s first snow
The first real snow often arrives in Aroostook County in late November, and with it the snowmobile trails begin to open. Grooming reports are posted by local clubs and by the Maine Snowmobile Association.
Northern Maine · MSA trail reports ↗
All year round
Local traditions
Things that happen in New Limerick and nearby whether or not anyone announces them.
Crescent Park
The lake’s community gathering spot, and the venue for Nickerson Lake events — from the cardboard boat race to community gatherings on the water.
The river race
The Meduxnekeag River Canoe Race has started in New Limerick for decades — a reminder that this town sits at the top of the watershed that makes the whole run to Houlton possible.
Farm and market days
Saturday farmers’ markets run in Houlton, Hodgdon and Presque Isle, with produce from the surrounding farms — including MOFGA-certified growers like Nature’s Circle in New Limerick.
Check the county calendar before you travel
Every organiser sets its own dates and most publish their own schedule. The independent Aroostook County events calendar is the single place to look for fairs, festivals, markets, races and seasonal events across the county — and the wider Aroostook.ME travel guide covers the rest of the county in depth, including all 66 towns.