What other event in the Lakes Region has dressage horses, New Orleans jazz, Penobscot drummers, and live Bavarian polka? That is a rhetorical question that announcer Jon March asked Lakes Region Now while talking about Naples’ annual Rocktoberfest.

This is the second year that Naples hosted Rocktoberfest, which was conceived last year by the town’s Event Committee. Chelsea McKamy, chair of the committee, said the event was planned in just eight weeks after the committee was put together in the summer of 2024. She said that, with no time to plan something for summer, they would plan a fall event to help the town with offseason revenue following the summer tourism peak.

McKamy said they chose the holiday weekend in October because it was when a lot of people would come up to Naples to close their camps for the winter. She also said that a lot of Naples establishments are seasonal, and they took a risk extending their seasons to accommodate the event. The inaugural event, she said, was a massive success, with the Placer AI app counting nearly 4,000 attendees.

While the previous year was marred by bad weather, this year’s Rocktoberfest occurred on a calm, sunny fall evening.

McKamy said the 10 participating establishments were preparing for the mass gathering, opening satellite bars and extra seating to accommodate the large number of attendees. The biggest new addition this year, she said, was a high-quality fireworks display she hoped would encourage people to stay for the entirety of the event. Events returning from the previous year included ax-throwing, blacksmith demonstrations, a stein-holding competition, and a night market on the shore of Long Lake.

The event featured a large number of musical acts, ranging from Indigenous artists such as the Burnurwurbskek Singers to the Beecher Bavarian Band, the latter in keeping with the Octoberfest theme.

The highlight of the evening was American Idol semi-finalist and Maine native Julia Gagnon, who gave a powerful performance in front of Naples United Methodist Church. In addition to covering artists ranging from Elton John to Jelly Roll and Reneé Rapp, Gagnon performed several original songs. Gagnon praised the crowd, saying that she could hear the applause through her in-ear monitors, and encouraged the audience to raise money to repair the church’s historic steeple.

Meadowbrook Equestrian Center was making an appearance at the event following a devastating tragedy. Last month, the center’s 220-year old barn was destroyed by a fire. Although no people or horses were harmed, barn manager Patricia Sapp said the fire left eight horses homeless, and they are currently converting their indoor riding barn into temporary portable stalls while they raise donations to rebuild.

Sapp said the love and generosity the community had shown toward the equestrian center in their hour of need was incredible. She recalled how, in the immediate aftermath of the fire, The Umbrella Factory, a local grocery store, donated all of its water to help the horses.

Matthew Baillargeon, owner of Meadowbrook, was performing an equestrian show alongside Zachary Herbert, a United States Dressage Federation silver medalist. Baillargeon told Lakes Region Now that, with all of the staff’s free time devoted to setting up the temporary stabling area and getting the horses situated, they have not had much time to practice for only the second show since the fire. Nevertheless, he said that he was proud of the horses for giving their all amidst the current circumstances.

Rocktoberfest also served as a forum for Naples residents to pitch their ideas on how to make the community better. Tamara Hunt and Keri Ouellette were promoting the town’s new comprehensive plan, created from over a year’s worth of discussion and community input, and due to be voted on by the town at the next town meeting. Meanwhile, another group of residents promoted a $3.5 million community center which will be voted on as a ballot referendum in the November elections.