Washington County Maine International Homecoming Festival
Few festivals in Maine ask their visitors to stand in two countries at once, and the International Homecoming Festival does exactly that. For five days each August, the border towns of Calais, Maine, and Saint Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, turn a shared river crossing into a shared celebration, with a parade that walks from one country into the other. The festival’s own layer describes the gathering as one of the longest-running cross-border community celebrations in North America: it has been running since 1974, reached its fiftieth edition in 2023, and marked its fifty-second edition in August 2025, with the fifty-third festival following in 2026.
The whole programme is built around the border itself. The International Parade crosses from Calais into Saint Stephen, carrying marchers, floats and spectators from the United States into Canada, and a two-country five-mile race runs the same idea in athletic form. Around those centrepieces sit a carnival, street fairs, concerts, craft shows, children’s games and fireworks over the Saint Croix River.
About
The International Homecoming Festival is a cross-border community celebration shared by Calais, Maine, and Saint Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. The two towns face each other across the Saint Croix River, and the festival uses that geography as its stage. Events take place in downtown Calais and downtown Saint Stephen, with the International Parade providing the most visible link between them. In 2025 the parade began at a parking lot on South Street in Calais and finished at the corner of King and Union streets in Saint Stephen.
Calais is not the seat of Washington County; that distinction belongs to Machias, the county seat named in the reference layers. The festival is organised across the border as well as celebrated across it. The International Homecoming Festival co-chairs lead the effort, working with an all-volunteer Canadian committee and American counterparts, according to the festival’s own layer. The Municipal District of Saint Stephen previously provided organisational support, again per the festival’s own layer. The co-chairs are referred to here by role only. The programme runs across five days: the parade, the five-mile race, a carnival, street fairs, concerts, craft shows, children’s games, and fireworks over the Saint Croix River.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
| Event name | International Homecoming Festival |
| Host towns | Calais, Maine, and Saint Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada |
| County | Washington County, Maine |
| County seat | Machias |
| Venue | Downtown Calais and downtown Saint Stephen |
| Organiser | International Homecoming Festival co-chairs |
| Running since | 1974, per the festival’s own layer |
| Latest dated edition | Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 August 2025, fifty-second |
| Next edition | Fifty-third festival in 2026 |
| Signature event | International Parade from Calais into Saint Stephen |
History
The festival’s own layer states that the celebration has been running since 1974, and the dated editions trace a steady August rhythm across more than five decades. The earliest dated edition in the layers read is the forty-fourth annual festival, held from Wednesday 9 August to Sunday 13 August 2017. The fiftieth edition ran from Wednesday 2 August to Saturday 5 August 2023 under the theme “Fifty Years Celebrating Friendship”. The 2024 edition followed from Wednesday 7 August to Saturday 10 August under the theme “Two Countries, One Heart”, and the fifty-second ran from Wednesday 6 August to Sunday 10 August 2025. The festival’s own layer records the fifty-third festival in 2026.
For a useful comparison, see the Washington County Maine Eastport Salmon Festival for another county festival.
A celebration that began in 1974 has kept its August place on the calendar, and the anniversary billings — fiftieth in 2023, fifty-second in 2025 — show an event that counts its years openly. The 2025 parade route, from a parking lot on South Street in Calais to the corner of King and Union streets in Saint Stephen, follows the ordinary road between the two downtowns: the border here is a working crossing used every day by residents of both towns, and the festival turns that daily movement into a celebration. No founding account is given beyond the layers’ statement that the celebration has been running since 1974.
What to Expect
Visitors should plan for five days spread across two downtowns, with the International Parade as the weekend’s unmistakable centrepiece. The parade crosses the border from Calais into Saint Stephen, and crowds gather along the route on both sides of the river to watch it pass. In 2025 the procession began at a parking lot on South Street in Calais and ended at the corner of King and Union streets in Saint Stephen, so spectators could choose a viewing spot in either town and still see the whole procession. Marching bands, floats and community groups make up the parade, and the crossing itself is the moment most visitors remember.
The two-country five-mile race covers a course that spans both towns. The carnival and street fairs fill the days between the headline events, with rides, games, food and merchandise spread through both downtowns. Craft shows give local makers a place to sell their work, and children’s games keep younger visitors occupied. Concerts run through the festival on stages in both towns, and fireworks over the Saint Croix River close the evenings, visible from both banks. A day at the festival is therefore a walk between two downtowns, with the race or a craft show in the morning, the street fair and carnival in the afternoon, and a concert and fireworks in the evening.
Planning Your Visit
Calais and Saint Stephen sit directly across the Saint Croix River from each other, and the festival’s events are spread through both downtowns, so either town works as a base and the other is a short walk away. Visitors who want to see the parade should study the route before the day and arrive early at a chosen viewing spot: in 2025 the procession started at a parking lot on South Street in Calais and finished at the corner of King and Union streets in Saint Stephen.
The festival runs for five days — Wednesday to Sunday in 2025, Wednesday to Saturday in 2024 and 2023 — and the programme fills the whole span rather than concentrating into a single Saturday. A one-day visit can take in the parade, the street fair and an evening concert, but a two- or three-day stay allows time for the race, the craft shows, the carnival and the fireworks. Much of the festival takes place outdoors, so comfortable walking shoes, sun protection and a layer for the cooler evenings by the river are worth packing.
No admission position is documented in the layers read: the parade and street events are open public events, but no gate position is stated. Visitors should therefore plan their spending around food, merchandise, carnival rides and craft purchases rather than a single ticket price. Dates, times and the parade route are confirmed edition by edition, so checking the current year’s programme before travelling is the practical step. The border remains a real international boundary during the celebration, so allow time to move between the downtowns and keep the parade route in mind when choosing where to park.
Sample Itinerary
A three-day visit captures the shape of the festival without trying to cover everything. Arrive on the first day in the early afternoon and begin in downtown Calais, walking the street fair and the craft shows to get a sense of the American side of the event. Spend the late afternoon at the carnival, then cross to Saint Stephen for an evening concert and a first look at the Canadian downtown.
On the second day, plan around the parade. Arrive early at a viewing spot along the route — the South Street starting area in Calais gives a view of the procession forming up, while the King and Union streets corner in Saint Stephen shows the parade arriving in Canada. After the parade, follow the crowds to the street fairs and children’s games, and spend the afternoon browsing the craft shows. In the evening, find a place along the riverfront for the fireworks over the Saint Croix River, visible from both banks.
On the third day, take the slower pace the festival allows. Watch or join the two-country five-mile race if it falls on your visit, revisit the craft shows for anything you passed over, and spend time in the downtown shops of both towns.
Comparison
The International Homecoming Festival stands apart from most Maine summer festivals because its defining feature is a border rather than a single town square. A typical county festival gathers its visitors in one place — a fairground, a main street, a waterfront park — and builds its programme around that single ground. The Homecoming Festival does the opposite: it spreads across two downtowns in two countries and makes the movement between them the point. The parade begins in the United States and ends in Canada, and the five-mile race follows the same logic.
The Homecoming Festival instead asks visitors to cross the river, compare the two downtowns and notice how much they share. The fireworks over the Saint Croix River are a display for both banks at once. Other Washington County festivals, such as the Eastport Pirate Festival or the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, are firmly rooted in one town and one waterfront; the Homecoming Festival’s roots run across the water instead. The co-chairs lead it with an all-volunteer Canadian committee working alongside American counterparts, and the layers record no gate admission position at all, so the programme of open street events reads as a community gathering rather than a ticketed attraction.
Checklist
- Base yourself in Calais or Saint Stephen and walk between the two downtowns
- Study the parade route before the day and arrive early for a viewing spot
- Allow two or three days to cover the parade, race, fairs, craft shows and fireworks
- Pack comfortable walking shoes, sun protection and a layer for cool river evenings
- Budget for food, merchandise, carnival rides and craft purchases rather than a single ticket
- Check the current year’s programme for confirmed dates, times and the parade route
- Allow extra time for street closures along the parade route in both towns
- Plan an evening by the riverfront for the fireworks over the Saint Croix River
Beyond the Festival
The towns around the festival reward a longer stay. Saint Croix Island International Historic Site lies eight miles south of Calais, on the river that gives the valley its name. It is a historic site, not part of the festival, and it is worth visiting on its own terms: the island was the site of an early French settlement, and the interpretive centre on the Maine shore tells that story in detail. A visit there pairs naturally with the festival, but the site is a separate destination with its own hours.
Calais itself has a heritage series of its own in the Mushroom Festival, a separate event from the Homecoming Festival that celebrates a different part of the town’s history. Machias, the county seat, sits to the south-west, and Eastport, on Moose Island, offers a different waterfront and a different set of summer events.
Why It Matters
The International Homecoming Festival matters because it keeps a cross-border friendship visible in a form anyone can join. The towns have shared a river, a crossing and a daily life for generations, and the festival turns that shared life into a public celebration. The parade crossing the border is the most direct expression of that idea: two communities walking together from one country into the other, watched by crowds on both banks.
The festival’s longevity gives that idea weight. A celebration running since 1974, reaching its fiftieth edition in 2023 and its fifty-second in 2025, has outlasted changes in both towns and in the wider world, and its themes — friendship in 2023, two countries and one heart in 2024 — show organisers who know what the event is for. The volunteer structure reinforces the point: the co-chairs, the all-volunteer Canadian committee and the American counterparts who carry the festival are the same people who live in the two towns. For Washington County, the festival adds a different kind of event to a calendar full of single-town celebrations — one that draws visitors to the border rather than to a single waterfront.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which towns host the International Homecoming Festival?
Calais, Maine, and Saint Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, host the festival together. Events take place in downtown Calais and downtown Saint Stephen. Calais is not the seat of Washington County; Machias holds that role.
Does the parade really cross the United States–Canada border?
Yes. The International Parade begins in Calais and finishes in Saint Stephen, crossing the border along its route. In 2025 the procession started at a parking lot on South Street in Calais and ended at the corner of King and Union streets in Saint Stephen.
Is there an admission charge for the street events?
No gate admission position is documented in the layers read. The parade and street events are open public events, but no gate position is stated, so visitors should plan their spending around food, merchandise, carnival rides and craft purchases rather than a single ticket price.
When did the border celebration first begin?
The festival’s own layer states that the celebration has been running since 1974. The dated editions in the record include the forty-fourth annual festival in 2017, the fiftieth in 2023, the fifty-second in 2025, and the fifty-third festival in 2026.
What to Expect From the Next Washington County Maine International Homecoming Festival
How often is Washington County Maine International Homecoming Festival held?
The celebration returns each August, with dated editions recorded in 2017, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the fifty-third festival following in 2026.
When is the next Washington County Maine International Homecoming Festival?
The fifty-third festival is recorded for 2026 in the festival’s own layer. Exact dates for 2026 are confirmed edition by edition, so check the current year’s programme before travelling.
Will the dates change?
The August timing has held steady across the dated editions in the record, with the 2025 edition running from Wednesday 6 August to Sunday 10 August and the 2024 edition from Wednesday 7 August to Saturday 10 August. The precise days shift from year to year, so the current year’s programme is the reliable source for the exact dates.
A festival that walks across a border is a rare thing, and the International Homecoming Festival has been doing it for more than five decades. The parade from Calais into Saint Stephen, the two-country race, the street fairs and the fireworks over the Saint Croix River all point to the same idea: two towns, two countries, one celebration.
