BATH

This Friday will kick off the 45th annual Bath Heritage Days, a four-day celebration featuring a barbecue, artisan market, carnival, headline bands, fireworks and more.

The Morse All Sports Booster Club partnered with Main Street Bath to bring back the chicken barbecue, which hasn’t been part of the festivities the last few years. The barbecue will run from 5-7 p.m. on Friday at Library Park and tickets are $20. There will also be a $10 children’s meal option.

Smokey’s Greatest Shows and Carnival opens at Waterfront Park on Friday and will run from 5-11 p.m. The carnival will run Saturday and Tuesday from noon to 11 p.m., Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Monday from 1-11 p.m.

Saturday is when Heritage Days kicks into high gear. Main Street Bath director Jake Korb said the Maine Artisans’ Marketplace will open at Library Park at 10 a.m. with more than 40 participating artisans offering a range of goods from jewelry and wood workings to olive oil.

“It’s a really nice mix of things,” Korb said.

There will also be a variety of live music throughout event, with about 30 total performances over four days — including two high-profile musicians. Sunday afternoon, Michael Doucet, a two-time Grammy winner and 12-time Grammy nominee, will take the stage from 12:45-2:30 p.m. He will have a full Cajun band performing with him. The Mallet Brothers Band will take the stage Tuesday night after the 9 p.m. fireworks show as the headline band.

Monday is Kids’ Day, with craft activities in Library Park from 1-3 p.m. Camden National Bank is sponsoring a free ice cream truck, with donations to benefit Tedford Housing.

The Bath Firemen’s Muster, a long-standing tradition at Bath Heritage Days, will be held from 1-4 p.m. Saturday on the north end of Front Street. According to the Bath Firemen’s Muster Facebook page, this is the oldest organized sport in the United States. It also states that the first firemen’s muster was held on July 4, 1849, in Bath — a competition among crews with hand-pumped fire engines to see who can shoot the longest stream of water.

The annual Bath Heritage Days parade, slated as the state’s largest Independence Day parade, will feature more than 80 float entries and starts at 10 a.m. at the five corners on Lincoln Street. The parade will go down Lincoln, Centre and Front streets, and lasts about 90 minutes, Korb said.

This year the Heritage Days parade theme is “Our Town America” to celebrate the city’s hometown heritage. Eric and Pam Allen are the parade grand marshals and have been longtime business owners and members of the Bath community. They owned Bath Printing Company for 27 years and now work with several different community organizations.

In addition to the parade and other festivities, Korb said there will also be many food vendors including Pinky D’s Poutine, The Donut Boys, an old-fashioned soda wagon and more.

For a full schedule, visit bathheritagedays.com.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

FRIDAY:

• Chicken BBQ, 5-7 p.m., Library Park

• Friends of Patten Free Library preview book sale for members, 5-8 p.m., Winter Street Church

• Smokey’s Greatest Shows and Carnival, 5-11 p.m., Waterfront Park

• Independence Jam Skateboard Competition, 6 p.m., Bath Skate Park

SATURDAY

• Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m. to noon, BIW north end parking lot

• Friends of Patten Free Library Book Sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Winter Street Church

• Maine Artisans’ Marketplace, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Library Park

• Smokey’s Greatest Shows and Carnival, noon to 11 p.m.

• Fireman’s Muster, 1-4 p.m., north end of Front Street

• Live entertainment, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Waterfront and Library parks

SUNDAY

• Front Street Shuffle Antique Car Show, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Friends of Patten Free Library book sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Winter Street Church

• Maine Artisans’ Marketplace, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Library Park

• Chili-Chowder Fest, 3- 5:30 p.m., 26 Summer St. across from the library

• Smokey’s Greatest Shows and Carnival, noon to 11 p.m.

• Live entertainment, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Waterfront and Library parks

MONDAY

• Friends of Patten Free Library book sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Winter Street Church

• Smokey’s Greatest Shows and Carnival, 1-11 p.m.

• Kids’ Day Activities, 1-3 p.m., Library Park

• Live entertainment, noon to 9:30 p.m., Waterfront park

TUESDAY

• 1 mile fun run, 7:30 a.m.

• 5 mile road race, 8:15 a.m., City Hall

• Paul Revere Bell ringing, 9:55-10 a.m., City Hall

• Independence Day Parade, 10 a.m.

• Smokey’s Greatest Shows and Carnival, noon to 11 p.m.

• Maine’s First Ship Fireworks Party, 7-10 p.m., Freight Shed

• Bath Municipal Band concert, 8 p.m., Library park

• Fireworks over the Kennebec River, 9 p.m.

• Live entertainment, noon to 11:30 p.m., Waterfront Park