POLAND — The Squid Jiggers will celebrate the music, food and culture of Newfoundland at the sixth annual Newfoundland Day concert on Saturday, June 4, at Mel’s Hilltop Restaurant at Poland Spring Resort.

Soon after musician/entertainers Dave Rowe and Troy R. Bennett formed the Squid Jiggers in 2010, they made a connection between the Celtic-influenced sea-going music they perform and Newfoundland when they started seeing a group of ex-pat Newfoundlanders at nearly all of their shows. The Squids had an idea to do a show just for their Newfie friends, and Newfoundland Day was born. After six years, the show has grown to a party for all who come, Newfie or not.

“It’s  funny — these songs really are the folk music of Maine, too,” Rowe said. “In the days of sail, these songs made their way to ports all over the eastern seaboard in some form or another. Most of them have roots in old Celtic music as well. We learned many of the tunes from my dad’s group, Schooner Fare. It’s just that Newfoundlanders still remember the songs and sing along — and there are quite a few of them around here for some reason.”

The Squid Jiggers took their name from the A.R. Scammel song “Squid Jigging Ground,” about fishing for squid off the shores of Newfoundland. Rowe and Bennett combine their talents on guitar, bass, bodhran and tin whistles to lay down a thunderous musical base for their robust vocal harmonies.

Newfoundland Day festivities begin with a buffet of uniquely Newfoundland fare including Newfoundland fish cakes, Jiggs Dinner, similar to a corned beef boiled dinner, Figgy Duff, a bread and raisin pudding sweetened with molasses, and Toutons, which bears a striking resemblance to fried dough.

Later in the evening there will be a “screech-in,” an initiation ceremony that Newfies enjoy foisting upon non-Newfs involving the consumption of Newfie steak (bologna), dancing a jig, kissing a codfish, drinking a shot of Newfoundland Screech Rum and reciting a nearly unintelligible verse of Newfoundland allegiance in a Newfie dialect. At the conclusion of the bizarre ritual, a certificate is presented to the participant bestowing the title of honorary Newfoundlander. 

Newfoundland Day festivities begin when the doors open at 4:30 p.m. The buffet will be served at 5:30 p.m. and the music starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets cost $31 for the buffet and concert, or $15 in advance for the concert only. Concert tickets cost $20 at the door. They are available at www.tinyurl.com/newfie16.

FMI: 207-619-FOLK, www.squidjiggers.com.