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Kate Madore, Lisbon Parks and Recreation Department assistant director and Moxie Festival organizer, shows her handmade Moxie cowboy hat Wednesday in Lisbon. The hats are being sold during the festival by a local vendor for the 41st year of the festival, which starts Friday and celebrates the soft drink that put Lisbon on the map in 1884. New this year, the event is being held at Lisbon High School with a luau theme, though a full slate of local businesses are spreading the celebratory spirit beyond the festival grounds. (Libby Kamrowski/Staff Photographer)

LISBON — Few people would argue that this town’s signature summer festival needs more moxie. The bright orange color, the tangy beverage and the positive community spirit is everywhere.

But that’s just what it got when “America’s Got Talent” chugger Eric “Badlands” Booker recently challenged long-reigning Moxie chugging champ Beau Bradstreet to bring it on at this weekend’s festival.

The chug-off looks to be just one of the many highlights this year when the three-day Moxie Festival gets underway Friday with a luau theme and the slogan “Hang Loose, Drink Moxie.”

With that theme in mind, the festival, which draws between 40,000 and 50,000 Moxie lovers from far and wide each year, will feature a hula demonstration, steel drum and ukulele bands, along with the traditional and beloved annual parade, a 5K road race, a Moxie recipe contest and a whole lot more. 

This year’s 41st festival will kick off at 3 p.m. Friday at Lisbon High School, where most of the weekend’s main events will take place.

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Starting at 4 p.m., “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” a Tom Petty tribute band, will play until 6:30 p.m., at which time The Eagles tribute band “Another Tequila Sunrise” will take over for its Maine debut. At dusk, a fireworks show will take place.

Saturday will offer a whole day of Moxie fun starting at 7 a.m. with the Moxie Kids Fun Run, followed by the 29th annual Moxie Day 5K. At 10 a.m. one of the largest parades in Maine will take to the streets for its “two-hour traffic jam” full of floats, vintage cars and bands. 

At 1:30 p.m., attendees have the opportunity to witness the wet and fizzy Moxie chugging championship. “Badlands” Booker, a competitive eater, rapper and viral YouTuber who has been featured on “America’s Got Talent” for beverage chugging, will attend his first Moxie festival this year. 

Frank’s Restaurant & Pub owner Camden Poisson pours a tall glass of Moxie on Wednesday in Lisbon. “It’s pretty big for Lisbon, it’s probably the biggest thing we do here,” he said of the Moxie Festival, which starts Friday. Poisson planned a Moxie-filled menu with drinks and food using the soft drink as an ingredient, from smoked meats to sauces and jams. The restaurant is at 2 Main St. in Lisbon Falls in the building formerly known as the “Moxie Store.” (Libby Kamrowski/Staff Photographer)

Booker challenged reigning Moxie chugging champion Beau Bradstreet of Bridgton in a YouTube video posted on April 26, saying “It’s going to be a battle to the finish.” Bradstreet has held the title for over a decade.

According to a festival news release, both contestants are officially registered for the competition on Saturday.

A hula demonstration and a performance by Tinpanic Steel Band will be held Saturday afternoon, followed by performances from The Smith Collaboration band and the Jimmy Buffet tribute band Changes in Latitudes, both making their Maine debuts. 

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On Sunday, the traditional Moxie Car Show will begin at 8 a.m. at Beaver Park.

The Moxie Recipe Contest will take place at 11 a.m. on Main Street. Past winning dishes have ranged from baked beans to carnitas to cream puffs. 

The Glory Daze band and the FLUKES ukulele band will play in the evening to round out the festival starting at 4 p.m.

Lisbon Parks and Recreation Department Director Mark Stevens shows the trophy Wednesday that will be awarded to the winner of the car show at the Moxie Festival in Lisbon. Stevens has been a longtime contributor to the Moxie Festival, and is responsible for starting the 5K race some 29 years ago. He said it’s grown 10-fold since the first run, which had about 50 participants; this year, over 500 are registered. (Libby Kamrowski/Staff Photographer)

But those are just some of the highlights. Other festival features include live mural painting, T-shirt sales, touch-a-truck, a “lobstah feast” and a unicyclist demonstration. New this year will be a “Kids’ Corner,” with a petting zoo, inflatables and a giant slide. 

All three days of the festival will feature a number of food trucks and vendors at Lisbon High School. 

Festivities are not contained to the festival grounds. Festival coordinator Kate Madore emphasized that the event is truly a townwide celebration. 

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“All of our local businesses are also hosting their own Moxie-themed events to really invite people to town,” she said. 

For the first time in the festival’s history, the festivities will be livestreamed on streamstate.tv so that Moxie lovers unable to attend the event can still share in the joy. Sponsored by Androscoggin Bank, the parade, chugging contest and whoopie pie eating contest will be streamed on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Caleb Gibbs, left, and Jared Billings of Weeks Tent Rental raise the second of three tents Wednesday for this weekend’s Moxie Festival in Lisbon. Preparations are in full swing all around town for the 41st year of the festival, which celebrates the soft drink that put Lisbon on the map in 1884. New this year, it is being held at Lisbon High School with a luau theme, though a full slate of local businesses are spreading the celebratory spirit beyond the festival grounds. (Libby Kamrowski/Staff Photographer)

Madore said that while the beverage Moxie may be “hard to define,” it “leaves room for everybody to bring to it who they are and what they are.” 

“My greatest wish is that everybody could go and have just a really good time and step away from the cares and troubles of their life for a while and support our amazing community,” she added. 

Detailed event schedules can be found on the Moxie Festival’s website: moxiefestival.com.

Donald Carpenter cooks up Cam’s Bacon Moxie Jam Wednesday at Frank’s Restaurant & Pub in Lisbon. It’s made from caramelized onions, rendered bacon fat, fresh herbs and spices, and, of course, Moxie soda. Carpenter said he and owner Camden Poisson have come up with a range of Moxie-infused menu items for visitors to enjoy. (Libby Kamrowski/Staff Photographer)

Trinity Poon, a Sun Journal summer intern, is a rising senior at Bates College and the executive editor of the college's student newspaper. She is from Sandwich, Massachusetts.

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