The fourth annual Auburn Lobster Festival will be held 1- 6 p.m. Saturday on Main Street and Festival Plaza in city’s downtown.

It started as an April Fools’ joke by the city on Facebook back in 2021. It got so much traction it was made a reality in 2023.

“We were kicking around ideas for an event and we just kept coming back to the joke,” said Jennifer Boenig, events and engagement manager for the city of Auburn. “We thought ‘Let’s just do it’ and we dove in headfirst and it’s been great.”

There will be live music throughout the free event, starting with Ashton Butler at 1 p.m., a folk rock singer and songwriter for Nashville, Tennessee, who will be making his second appearance at the event.

David Young & the Interstate Kings are set to perform at 2:15 p.m., a Maine-based rock group residing in Nashville, Tennessee, that will also be making its second appearance at Auburn Lobster Festival. The group first performed when the event first kicked off.

Headlining the festival will be Skösh at 4:45 p.m., a funk and rock band from Buckfield formed in 2007. They will also be returning to the stage after performing at the festival its first year.

Seven food trucks will be on site: Ye Olde English Fish and Chips, Mr. Sea’s Lobster Pound, KP’s Place, Cruzin Slice, Cheese of the Day, Lucky Cat Coffee Truck and L/A Taco.

For a more lobster-like experience, there will be a Maine lobster shore dinner. The dinner will be prepared by Alabama BBQ and include a fresh-cooked Maine lobster, steamed clams, corn, a baked potato and corn bread. The meals are in limited quantity and must be purchased ahead of time, for $45, at auburnlobsterfestival.com.

Boenig said there will be some lobster dinners available onsite, but it’s first-come-first-serve.

Gritty McDuff’s Brew Pub will be serving alcoholic beverages under a tent along Festival Plaza for those 21 and older.

Parking can be found on the street, at the city’s municipal parking garage behind City Hall, and at Great Falls Plaza.

The past two years, the Auburn Lobster Festival has been centered around specific themes, said Boenig. Last year, the festival was geared toward a country theme. The year before it was a Jimmy Buffett theme.

This year, Boenig said they decided the festival would go back to its original roots and focus solely on being a lobster festival.

“We do a good job embracing and supporting our local Maine music theme,” said Boenig. “While you could spend more money to bring in an outside act, we have so many talented musicians here in Maine, and we decided to go back to how it all began and celebrate with the community again.”

Boenig said there’s nothing new or different coming to this year’s lobster festival. She said she’s heard from the community that the formula they have — music, beverages and food — is working and continues to bring them back year after year.

The first year the city held the festival, it saw more than 2,500 people in attendance, said Boenig. Last year, the city saw 1,000 people due to poor weather conditions.

This year, Boenig expects nice weather and estimates the event will draw 1,500 to 2,000 people, similar to its first year.

“Before this festival was a thing, there wasn’t really anything that was really kicking off here in Auburn,” said Boenig. “We wanted to get the community out and have them enjoy that warmer weather, enjoy each other’s company in a fun and safe way before the craziness of summer begins.”

For more information, go to auburnlobsterfestival.com.