By Matthew Dodge,Special to the Sun Journal

LISBON FALLS – It started off as a cure-all tonic, moved into the market of popular soft drink, and somewhere along the way became a pop-culture phenomenon, gathering supporters and fans in its bright orange wake.

The famous orange can acted as a beacon to Moxie fans from around the country this weekend as thousands descended upon Lisbon Falls to celebrate the oldest continuously produced soft drink in the country.

Main Street in Lisbon Falls was shut down to traffic for the soft drink celebration, and the classic orange T-shirts and Moxie maniacs packed the road. More than 30,000 visitors were expected for this year’s festival, which channeled the Louisiana bayou with its “Moxie-Gras” theme.

The festival’s main stage was decorated in the ever-present orange and white, as a group of anxious cooks awaited the results in the Moxie cook-off. This one-of-a-kind culinary event featured dishes such as Moxie cakes and muffins, as well as a recipe perhaps only true Mainers could enjoy: Moxie beans.

The line from Lisbon Fall’s famous House of Moxie extended down the street, as eager patrons queued up in their official Moxie Festival 2006 t-shirts, featuring the easily recognizable Moxie icon, forever pointing, and this year sporting an orange jester’s hat.

“People still say to me, you drink that stuff, that battery acid?” said New Hampshire resident Russ Bilodeau, who, dressed in his Moxie hard-hat complete with two cans of the bitter brew and straw, was getting to know fellow Moxie historians.

Bilodeau, who averages about three cans of the carbonated drink a day, is also owner of the well-known Moxie Bug, a bright orange VW Beetle that makes the trip to Lisbon Falls every year. “You meet a lot of good people. It turns into something fun.”

Behind an impressive display of antique bottles and caps, Pete Bergendahl had set up shop for the day. “I’ve been collecting for 20 years,” said Bergendahl, sharing with interested customers his rare caps, including his favorite piece, a cap featuring Moxie inventor Dr. Augustin Thompson, who first produced the drink in 1876.

“I drink Moxie every day. People say it cures everything, and I am living proof,” says Bergendahl. Indeed, Moxie was first marketed as a “nostrum” or powerful tonic to be taken by the teaspoon and rumored to cure everything from paralysis to “loss of manhood.”

The afternoon’s highlight was the Moxie Chuggin’ Challenge. After four preliminary rounds, it came down to the championship, with the title of Moxie Chuggin’ Champion on the line.

Don Kelly of Thompson managed to down three cans in one minute for the title and quickly gave away one of his prizes, a 12-pack of Moxie. When asked how it felt to be among the Moxie chugging elite, Kelly responded with a grimace, “Right now, it doesn’t feel so good.”

In May 2005, Moxie was made Maine’s official soft drink. Many feel the drink represents the spirit of Down East people. “It is spunk, verve and the daring to occasionally try a different path,” says the New England Moxie Congress.

The festival’s light tone and the patrons’ commitment to the soft drink that “Makes Mainers Mighty” makes for a fun and wacky atmosphere and assures that the event, much like Moxie itself, will be good to the bitter end.

Copy the Story Link