Benton Alewife Festival

Start: Saturday, May 16, 2026 11:00AM
End: Sunday, May 17, 2026 3:00AM

Join us for a day of fun at the Benton Alewife Festival, a free community event celebrating the annual return of the alewives to the Sebasticook River. This event includes live music, food, samples of smoked alewives, arts & crafts, face painting, demonstrations and activities for all ages. The alewives, also known as river herring, make their way each year from the ocean up the Sebasticook river to their freshwater habitat. Benton is home to the largest alewife “run” in the United States with more than 9 million fish passing through the fish elevator in 2025. Because of this massive migration, the river is also host to the largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the Northeast. So come and see this amazing spectacle!