LISBON — The town’s annual three-day Moxie Festival gets under way Friday with the theme of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Moxie.

Moxie ice cream, Moxie pulled pork sandwiches, Moxie chugging contest, Moxie T-shirts. Everything Moxie.

The celebration is expected to draw between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors, if not more,  said Rosie Bradley, event co-chairman and the town’s community development director. 

Frank Anicetti Jr., who started the first celebration 28 years ago, said Thursday that he has made 80 gallons of Moxie ice cream for festival-goers.

He hosted the first festival in 1982 as a book signing by Frank Potter, author of “The Moxie Mystique.” It was held at Anicetti’s Moxie Store on the corner of Main Street and Route 196.

The old store with its original ornate metal ceilings, marble counters and unfinished wooden floors drew hundreds of visitors, who after meeting Potter, tasted Moxie for the first time. Most took home bottles of the tart drink and came back for more. Anicetti later added his original homemade Moxie ice cream.

Besides the ice cream, there will be Moxie pulled pork sandwiches, a Moxie chugging contest and Moxie recipe contest.

Bradley and co-chairman P. Sean Galipeau, the town fire chief, will oversee events, which also include a parade, fireworks and firemen’s muster.

Many of the events will be held at the MTM Community Center and grounds on School Street. There, the Moxie Congress will present “The 125 year Pursuit of Moxie” Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. The program will take about an hour.

Also new this year is an appraisal of antiques at the United Methodist Church next to the MTM center from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m. Saturday. Appraisals will be done by Daniel Buck, a professional featured on shows such as “Antiques Roadshow.” Cost is $5 per item and appointments are suggested; call 353-8990.

There will be two stages for events, one in the downtown Lisbon Falls Municipal parking lot and a new one along with a gazebo outside the MTM Center, where the outdoor concert in the park series will be held this summer.

A fireworks display will be held at 9:15 p.m. Friday in the area of Mid-Town plaza.

All-day events include Spirit of The Wolf Powwow at the high school each day, Moxie car displays, pony rides, Slovak food sale by Holy Trinity Church at Maine Art Glass, kids games and entertainment downtown, and dozens of vendors at the MTM Center grounds.

Saturday begins with a pancake breakfast at the Masonic Hall on Oak Street with the Kora Clowns, and the highlight of the festival, the Moxie Parade, will begin on Route 196 at Capital Avenue at 9 a.m.; and a chicken barbecue in the Main Street parking lot from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On Sunday, registration for the annual Chief Worumbo Fun Canoe/Kayak race on the Androscoggin River will take place at the Durham boat launch on Route 136. The race begins at the Durham boat launch 11 a.m. and ends at the Lisbon boat launch on Route 196 followed by a lunch of lobster rolls and Moxie pulled pork sandwiches at 11:30 a.m.

Students competed to design a special Moxie T-shirt and those will be on sale. The winning design was submitted by eighth-grader Jenna Clifford.

The Historical Society will host an open house at the Ridge School House on Route 9 from noon until 3 p.m.

For further information and a complete schedule of events go to moxiefestival.com.