“BonAire! A Celebration of Ogunquit” Features Live Music on the Main Beach Stage, Artisan Crafts, Plein Air Demonstrations & Family Fun

Jimmy Ryan’s Wooden Leg headlines free concert lineup at Main Beach on Saturday, June 8


Ogunquit, ME, May 2024 – BonAire! celebrates Ogunquit’s unique history and today’s culture, with a focus on the contributions of the arts, fishing and LGBTQ+ community. Now in its third year, the event expands to three days, with activities at Main Beach, Perkins Cove, and downtown Ogunquit.
BonAire! kicks off on Friday night, June 7, at 5:30pm with Chowder in the Cove. Stroll down Shore Road, from Bourne Lane to Perkins Cove, and enjoy complimentary chowder from eight participating restaurants: Northern Union, The Maine Catch, Perkins Cove Kitchen, Barnacle Billy’s, Footbridge Lobster, The Lobster Shack, M.C. Perkins Cove, and Jackie’s Too. Live music with Maddie Ryan in Perkins Cove’s Rotary Park, sponsored by Ogunquit Parks & Rec, adds to the festivities.
The main events on Saturday, June 8, are live music all day at Main Beach, three craft fairs, a Plein Air at BonAire demonstration in Perkins Cove, and family activities downtown and at the beach.
The Main Beach Music Stage will showcase the “Stages of Ogunquit,” featuring acts from Ogunquit Playhouse (Merrill Peiffer), Jonathan’s Ogunquit, The Front Porch Piano Bar (George Howe), MaineStreet (Dueling Drag Divas), and the Leavitt Theatre (13 Scotland Road), with music beginning at 11am. Headliner Jimmy Ryan’s Wooden Leg performs at 4:30pm. There will be some seating available, but music lovers are encouraged to “bring your own chairs.”
Other “can’t miss” activities on Saturday include artisan craft fairs featuring more than 60 local entrepreneurs and their unique offerings at Dorothea Jacobs Grant Common, at Ogunquit Village School Playground, and in the adjacent Dunaway Center. The shopping begins at 9am. Family fun shares space with the craft fair in the Playground from 10am-noon with juggling, slack lines, clowning demonstrations, face painting, and Amelia Aglow’s Bubble Show featuring performers from the Maine Youth Circus.
Perkins Cove shines a light on its esteemed place in Plein Air art history from 10am-4pm on Saturday. Plein Air at BonAire! features more than 30 Plein Air artists painting, displaying and selling their work on the Marginal Way and in the Cove. Enjoy the sounds of live jazz at Rotary Park in Perkins Cove from noon-3pm.
Sunday fun includes the artisan craft fairs in Dorothea Jacobs Grant Common, the Dunaway Center, and the Ogunquit Village School Playground from 9am-1pm, and Kids Cove Fun with sea creation balloon fun and face painting in Perkins Cove from 11am-1pm. Pastor Brian Shore leads the assembled in asking for a safe and bountiful season from the sea during the Blessing of the Fleet at noon at the Perkins Cove bridge, overlooking the harbor and its fleet of working fishing boats.
For the most up-to-date schedule with full details, visit https://www.ogunquit.org/bonaire-a-celebration-of-ogunquit/
The Ogunquit Chamber would like to thank the 2024 sponsors of “BonAire!,” who make the event possible: title sponsors Aland Realty, Bangor Savings Bank, Dunes on the Waterfront, Norseman Resort and Ogunquit Beach Lobster House; premier sponsors Barnacle Billy’s and Ogunquit Playhouse; associate sponsors Brickyard Hollow Brewing, Café Prego, Garthwaite Energy, Nikanos, The Omelette Factory, Pepper’s Seafood Co., Sevigney Lyons Insurance, and Sparhawk Oceanfront Resort; and supporting sponsors Franman Transportation, InnSeason Resorts – The Falls at Ogunquit, Kiki’s & Kiki’s II and Ogunquit Rental Properties.