LISBON – Crummy weather doesn’t dampen the spirits of devoted Moxie fans. Although participants and vendors said overall attendance was down Saturday at Lisbon’s Moxie Festival because of the rain, die-hard Moxie drinkers came in force, some even crossing the country by train to partake in the annual festivities.
“This is our second year here. We love to ride the train, we love Maine, and we love Moxie,” said Violet Anderson, who came with her husband Darrell and their son Jay from Renton, Wash.
Participants braved rain and sometimes downpours to watch the morning parade, listen to live music, munch on fried dough and kennel corn, and especially line up outside Kennebec Fruit Company to purchase cans of Moxie and the bright orange Moxie T-shirts, hats and bandannas sported by many up and down Main Street.
But the weather definitely lowered attendance, vendors and business owners said. “It’s usually full here,” said John Caron, owner of the Railroad Diner on Lisbon Street, as he gestured toward his outdoor stand, where only a few people stood while his son Jason prepared burgers and lobster rolls. “(The rain) made a big difference.” Attendance estimates for past festivals have ranged between 20,000 and 30,000.
Saturday’s festival marked the 22nd time that Lisbon has played host to the event, which celebrates the canned beverage that predates Coca-Cola by two years. The drink’s inventor was born in Union, Maine, and production began in 1884 in Lowell, Mass. It is the oldest continually canned beverage in the United States, hence its nostalgic appeal to Moxie devotees. The day’s festivities included a pancake breakfast, a 5k road race, pony rides, a Moxie Chuggin’ Challenge, an Elvis impersonator, and a recipe contest. The festival runs through today.
Attendees also enjoyed viewing the Moxie Mobiles, which feature a white horse and the Moxie logo mounted on a LaSalle automobile or, in one case, a Rolls-Royce. However, only one original Moxie Mobile still remains, said Ted Valpey, who brought the 1928 LaSalle vehicle by truck from Lincoln, N.H., where it sits at Clark’s Trading Post.
The original Moxie Mobiles were used as marketing tools, Valpey said, with between 12 and 18 of them produced. “But people didn’t take care of them, so most of them fell apart,” he said.
For those who have never tasted Moxie, be forewarned, because as its fans will tell you, Maine’s official state drink is definitely an acquired taste for many. The first few sips taste something like a cross between cherry cola and mouthwash. The exotic gentian root, one of Moxie’s ingredients, gives the drink its bitter edge.
“It’s an acquired taste, like coffee,” said George Gross, a New Jersey resident who serves as newsletter editor for the New England Moxie Congress. The group boasts more than 300 members and sponsors festivals in states including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont to promote Moxie and help keep the brand in business.
Moxie’s inventor was also a doctor, and the drink was originally billed as a tonic that would increase one’s nerve, said the group’s president, Don Worthen, who lives in Pittsburgh. Although that claim fell into the myth pile, Worthen said the drink helps eliminate morning sickness for pregnant women.
Comments are no longer available on this story