Dianne Gimbel and the Friends of Windjammer Days are gearing up for this year’s Windjammer Days. 

Windjammer Days in Boothbay Harbor has been an annual event for 51 years. The festival, which takes place in June, has been in the hands of the local chamber of commerce since its inception in 1963.

In November 2013, the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce board of directors made the decision to relinquish the reins.

On December 17, the newly formed organization, the Friends of Windjammer Days took over, a group of volunteers headed up by Mark and Dianne Gimbel, Peter Ripley and Andy Luke.

Dianne Gimbel said the first order of business for the new group was to form a Maine-based nonprofit organization.

“We have completed the application for the 501(c) (nonprofit) status; it has been filed and we're waiting to hear back,” she said. “We have to prove that we are a legitimate. It's quite a procedure.”

The group is comprised of five directors and 13 committee members. “We have a very active group (Friends of Windjammer Days) and we are very organized. There's a chair of every committee and we meet monthly to catch up on where everybody is.”

She said that everybody is up to speed at this point, and now it's time for advertising and public relations. “We're working with Catherine (Wygant Fossett) at the chamber. She's been helping us for this year's event.”

Gimbel said she appreciates the chamber’s help. “The chamber is being supportive. They're being good shepherds in transitioning the event over to us.”

She said that it is a big undertaking, and people who already have businesses and jobs are now volunteering to do something that staff members were being paid to do. 

“It's a busy time of year for all of us,” she said. “We want to keep the team positive as we move ahead.”

And Gimbel said all the people who have come out to volunteer have been super. “It has been heartwarming to see everybody coming together to make this happen.”

There will be some new events at the festival this summer. “We have added a codfish race and a lobster eating contest,” Gimbel said. Both of these events are part of the annual Fishermen's Festival.

“Our thought process was that the people who come for Windjammer Days aren't necessarily familiar with our Fishermen's Festival,” she said. “Some of those events are so much fun. It's a way to showcase who we are as a community, in addition to the windjammers.”

Gimbel said the team is looking to add other new events and happenings to Windjammer Days in future years. The Windjammers sail in on Tuesday and leave on Thursday, however, the group hopes to extend Windjammer Days into a week-long event by adding events on the off days.

“We're encouraging other groups in the area to have events during the week of Windjammers, mainly Monday and Friday, as those are the days that have no events scheduled. It's a way to get others in the community to tag into Windjammer Days,” Gimbel said.

And instead of an outside vendor coming with a truck, local restaurants will have tables outside their doors selling their wares. Gimbel said this venue will be open to any restaurant in town and there will be a map at the Whale Park showing where all the participating restaurants are.

Gimbel said that the restaurants will be kicking back a certain amount to the event expenses to help offset some of their expenses. “They didn't have to do that and I think it is awesome that they are.”

According to Gimbel, seven windjammers have been confirmed and two more are pending for this year. And she said they are still hoping for a Navy and Coast Guard ship.

The annual Captain's Dinner, usually held at McSeagull's, will take place at Cappy's in Camden on April 17. “It's a meet and greet that we do every year,” Gimbel said. “It was Peter Ripley's idea to move it to Camden to see if we can encourage some other boats to come this year.”

The sponsorship this year will be a little different. “We have the different levels of sponsorship, but we'll also have a vessel sponsorship, so someone can actually sponsor a particular windjammer,” Gimbel said. “It's a $2,500 level, and this way the boat will be paired up with the sponsor.”

Gimbel said they only need one more sponsor at that level, but parade and general Windjammer level sponsorships are still needed.

The festival will take place June 22 through 28. It will end with the Rocky Coast Road Race at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 28.

Related:

A vote to save Windjammer Days

Windjammer Days 2014 safe in hand under new leadership