Exeter’s Alewife Fest returns after more than a decade absence. Here's what is planned.

EXETER — The Alewife Festival, a town tradition that has been absent for more than a decade, is returning to Exeter.

The event, featuring a breakfast food truck, live music and a kayak tour, will take place Saturday, May 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Founders Park.

“We thought it was a good time to bring the environmental fair back,” said Kristen Murphy, natural resource planner for the town’s Planning and Sustainability Department. “With the successful removal of the dam (in 2015) and the restoration of the river, it’s important to celebrate the health of the river.”

Alewives are considered to be a symbolic creature for the town.

Not only did they help the natives and early Englishmen who came to Exeter to combat hunger, but also because it is on the town’s seal. According to Barbara Rimkunas, curator of the town’s Historical Society, the seal was created by Albert N. Dow in the late 1920s when the town needed a seal to complete the requirements in legalizing a bond issue.

Each spring, the alewives swim from the salty Atlantic Ocean into the fresh water of the Exeter River to breed. The migration of these adult alewives is often referred to as an “Alewife Run.”

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The festival will kick off with a presentation by the New Hampshire Fish and Game on the state’s native fish, such as herring and sea lamprey. Murphy suggested people should be sure to attend the event for fun facts about fish and to see them up close.

The winner of the “Guess the Alewife Run Date” contest will also be announced during the festival. As the name suggests, applicants entered to guess the run date to be entered into a raffle to win a kayak.

"Generally, it's early to late May or even late April, depending on the temperatures, water situations and natural environment," Murphy said.

The festival will also have a runway show for its "Alewife Mascot Costume Contest" at 11 a.m. Participants who've submitted either a picture or a video of their creative costume will parade down the runway, and be judged based on creativity, representation of the alewife and costume quality.

According to Murphy, Winnez, a catering company, will be at the festival and offer its breakfast-themed food.

The Alewife Festival has partnered with Sawbelly Brewing on Epping Road. Participants who buy an event-customized pint glass for $10 at the festival can use it to redeem a free beer at their brewpub.

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Music at the festival will be provided by Green Heron, who will be performing live upbeat and acoustic music from noon to 1 p.m. Vocalist Darien Castro will perform from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

If you have your own kayak, you can go to the town’s boat launch behind Water Street to join a kayak tour at 1:30 p.m.

“It’s going to be a quick tour from downtown all the way to Public Works,” said Murphy. “(During the tour), we'll talk about the dam removal, sea level rise and the wastewater treatment plant.”

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Following the festival, there will be an Environmental Film Festival from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Town Hall.

“We will have a variety of films,” said Murphy. “People can learn about the wastewater treatment plant upgrades, the impact of plastic on pollutants on our water bodies and what climate change is predicted to look like for New Hampshire.”

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The last Alewife Festival took place in 2007 at Swasey Parkway and was attended by hundreds of people. Murphy said the festival is a "heavy lift" as there are many components needed to organize it, which is one of the reasons that it died off throughout the years.

2022 Alewife Fest in Exeter

Saturday, May 14

9 a.m. – Welcome remarks

10 a.m. – NH native fish presentation

11 a.m. – Alewife run winner announcement

11:30 a.m. – Alewife mascot runway

1:30 p.m. – Squamscott River kayak tour

4-6 p.m. – Environmental Film Festival

12-9 p.m. – Sawbelly beer special

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH’s Alewife Festival returns: Here's what is planned