Sea Farm Registration

Option 1: Have a booth (or share one with a partner) to promote your farm but not shuck oysters. Participate in person on one or both days!

• Booth space is FREE for any Maine Sea Farmer!
• You’ll need to bring in your own booth set-up including a white 10 X 10 tent, tables, chairs, brochures, signage, etc. If you don’t have a white tent, any color is permitted in the Mallard Parking Lot.
• You are welcome to sell anything including unshucked oysters as long as you have the proper licenses and permits. T-shirts, farm hats, book private tour, etc.
• Bring lots of brochures, business cards, etc.
• Festival is rain or shine.
• Set-up time for sea farms & mobile shuckers is from 7 am – 9:30 am each day. Overnight security is provided so if you participate in both days, you may leave your booth set-up overnight.
• Breakdown on Saturday, June 29 is to begin no earlier than 6pm, and on Sunday, June 30 no earlier than 4pm.
• Unless issued a parking waiver (ADA hang tag holders, self-driving food trucks, other approved reason) all exhibitors will be required to park offsite during the Festival. A free shuttle is provided. Details will be provided with your booth assignment.
• L.L.Bean prohibits games of chance (raffles, etc), direct solicitation of donations, or collecting contact information from Festival goers (for instance, sign-ups for email newsletters.) This does not include collecting what is required in the course of a sale or transaction. This rule only pertains to booths in the Moose Parking Lot. Exhibitors in the Mallard Parking Lot have no restrictions.
• Public WiFi is not readily available and cellular coverage varies greatly by carrier and location within Freeport. We recommend that you bring any devices to your exact booth location in advance to test your signal strength and reliability.
• There are no outlets available adjacent to your booth. If necessary, only whisper-quiet generators are permitted.
• Vendor Insurance Coverage: All exhibitors participating in The Maine Oyster Festival are required to have insurance coverage no less than $1M and must supply a copy of their Certificate of Insurance in advance of the festival. Vendors on the L.L.Bean campus are required to have $2M in coverage. For inexpensive, per-event event coverage, please visit https://www.actinsurance.com
• In the event that there is guidance from the State of Maine and CDC regarding SPECIAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS and any infectious disease, any recommendations or requirements in effect at the time of the Festival will be enforced by Visit Freeport. This includes, but is not limited to, masking for participants and vendors, hand sanitizer stations, social distancing, etc.
• We will provide a special “Wanna Shuck” pin and additional marketing to anyone who is willing to demonstrate how to shuck at your booth. DHHS says that sampling is not regulated by the same food service rules as the licensed shuckers have to follow. They consider sampling “giving product away for free”. So, if you want to bring some oysters specifically to have in your booth to demonstrate shucking you can! Ice will be provided for you.

Option 2: Have a booth (or share one with a partner) to promote your farm and shuck and serve your oysters. Participate in person on one or both days!

• To operate in this model, you (or your partner) must hold all the required licenses and permits outlined by DHHS and DMR. Start early if you plan to apply for new or renewals of these licenses and permits! See our easy-to-read PDF for details.
• Booth space is FREE for any Maine Sea Farmer!
• This year ALL raw shucked oysters served at the festival will be “purchased” by consumers with a ticket sold by Visit Freeport at $3 each.
• $2.75 per ticket will be paid to the sea farm or shucker serving directly to the public. In this mode, payment will be made to participating farms within 7 days of the close of the event, quicker if you are able to accept electronic payments. Farms are responsible for collecting tickets as they serve oysters. At the end of each day, Visit Freeport will collect and tally your totals.
• In 2023, farms that shucked and served their own oysters served between 1300 – 2800 raw shucked oysters during the Festival. The number shucked varied widely based on individual staffing plans. Please indicate your expected availability on the registration form below.
• You’ll need to bring in your own booth set-up including a white 10 X 10 tent, tables, everything you need to shuck and serve (unless listed below), chairs, brochures, signage, etc.
• If you operate out of a trailer or food truck, please note that there are additional required permits from the Town of Freeport. Owners of these businesses should make themselves familiar with the additional permits required by the Town of Freeport. Visit Freeport staff will assist with the application process but all additional fees and permitting are the responsibility of the exhibitor.
• As long as you hold all the appropriate licenses, you may sell other food products from your booth. Be sure to make a note of what else you will be serving in your farm description on your registration so that we can promote that for you! Please also bring t-shirts, farm hats, book private tour, etc.
• Bring lots of brochures, business cards, etc – even if you run out of your oysters you should stay and continue to promote your brand.
• The Festival will provide service wares (plates, napkins, picks) for raw oysters that are fully composable.
• If you are serving other foods, please bring compostable wares, a guide from Garbage to Garden will be provided after you sign up.
• Ice will be provided at no cost to you.
• The Festival will also provide signature mignonette, lemons, hot sauce, etc for your booth.
• Visit Freeport has hired Garbage to Garden to handle garbage, returnables, compostables including oyster shells.
• Festival is rain or shine.
• Set-up time for sea farms & mobile shuckers is from 7 am – 9:30 am each day. Overnight security is provided so if you participate in both days, you may leave your booth set-up overnight.
• Breakdown on Saturday, June 29 is to begin no earlier than 6 pm, and on Sunday, June 30 no earlier than 4pm.
• Unless issued a parking waiver (ADA hang tag holders, self-driving food trucks, other approved reason) all exhibitors will be required to park offsite during the Festival. A free shuttle is provided. Details will be provided with your booth assignment.
• L.L.Bean prohibits games of chance (raffles, etc), direct solicitation of donations, or collecting contact information from Festival goers (for instance, sign-ups for email newsletters.) This does not include collecting what is required in the course of a sale or transaction. This rule only pertains to booths in the Moose Parking Lot. Exhibitors in the Mallard Parking Lot have no restrictions.
• You will be required to sign and return a simple food safety agreement supplied by L.L.Bean.
• Public WiFi is not readily available and cellular coverage varies greatly by carrier and location within Freeport. We recommend that you bring any devices to your exact booth location in advance to test your signal strength and reliability.
• There are very limited electrical hook-ups available. They must be requested at the time of registration. Each vendor with electrical service is limited to no more than 15 amps. Please verify this meets your needs. No additional accommodations are available. Only whisper quiet generators are permitted.
• Vendor Insurance Coverage: All exhibitors participating in The Maine Oyster Festival are required to have insurance coverage no less than $1M and must supply a copy of their Certificate of Insurance in advance of the festival. Vendors on the L.L.Bean campus are required to have $2M in coverage. For inexpensive, per-event event coverage, please visit https://www.actinsurance.com
• In the event that there is guidance from the State of Maine and CDC regarding SPECIAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS and any infectious disease, any recommendations or requirements in effect at the time of the Festival will be enforced by Visit Freeport. This includes, but is not limited to, masking for participants and vendors, hand sanitizer stations, social distancing, etc.
• We will provide a special “Wanna Shuck” pin and additional marketing to anyone who is willing to demonstrate how to shuck at your booth. DHHS says that sampling is not regulated by the same food service rules as the licensed shuckers have to follow. They consider sampling “giving product away for free”. So, if you want to bring some oysters specifically to have in your booth to demonstrate shucking you can! Ice will be provided for you.