It was the early spring of 1982 in Kennebunkport when Henry Pasco called a meeting of business people to discuss ways for the business community to give thanks to the residents of Kennebunkport and Kennebunk for supporting them. Henry suggested a Christmas Festival of some sort to create a sense of community spirit. At the time Nantucket and Marblehead in Massachusetts were staging Christmas Festivals. The goal was not to duplicate these events but to stage our own unique festival. Committees were formed and the name Prelude was suggested.
The first Prelude included a tree lighting ceremony, a River Tree Arts concert, a chowder luncheon, candlelight caroling and Santa’s arrival by lobster boat. We now have three tree-lighting ceremonies – Dock Square in Kennebunkport, Lower Village of Kennebunk and the Lobster Trap Tree in Cape Porpoise; about a dozen Art and Craft Fairs; A Walk to Bethlehem; Fire & Ice Bar; and 12 programs of music celebrating the season. Santa still arrives by lobster boat escorted by two very special “lobster elves”. For each year of Christmas Prelude™, business people have volunteered and worked with the community to recreate the spirit and joy of the Christmas season.
Behind the scenes of Prelude is a cast of hundreds of volunteers. Year after year, virtually every aspect of our community gets involved. Participating in Prelude activities are the churches, schools, and civic and community groups, which make Prelude the centerpiece of their fund-raising activities. Many groups support their charity work from the fairs and feasts held on the two weekends. One of the biggest events is the Lobster Bake held by the Washington Hose Fire Company that serves hundreds of people. The firefighters turn the money they generate from their events into rescue equipment, which otherwise would have been purchased with tax dollars. The very purchase of their rescue boat, the outfitting of it and the upgrading to technical equipment is a direct result of monies raised over Prelude.
Christmas Prelude™ would not be the celebration that it is without the thousands of volunteer hours that go into the preparations. The Kennebunkport Business Association plans and organizes the events and pays for the decorations for Kennebunkport and Lower Village. In good weather or bad, you will find these hardworking volunteers devoting months of their time in planning and dressing the villages in their holiday finery with sparkling lighted Christmas trees, seashell decorated wreaths, and garlands of greenery and ribbon.
Visit our Christmas Prelude website for a full schedule of events and real-time information.
Discover Christmas Prelude
