Hold your horses, Punxsutawney Phil! People across New England are enjoying a record-breaking summer right now, and in the scenic coastal community of Belfast, Maine, a lobster named Passy Pete is prepared for his annual ritual of predicting if summer will last 6 more weeks.
The clairvoyant crustacean has come out of pristine Belfast Harbor for the last 6 years and has correctly predicted the continued length of the summer season each time. He communicates the prophecy to a select group of local residents who call themselves the Belfast Barons, using scrolls which are safely preserved in a glass case at the local chamber of commerce during the intervening months, and are brought out each Labor Day.
A subject of local, national and international interest, Passy Pete is named after the local Passagassawakeag (or “Passy”) River flowing into Belfast Bay. His handlers, the Belfast Barons, treat him with the utmost dignity and return him to the harbor after each year’s prediction. No butter or boiling water is involved in this annual ritual.
So, on Labor Day morning, Sept.5nd at 10 am, the world will be watching at Belfast’s Heritage Park as Passy Pete selects the scroll which will reveal what type of weather New Englanders can expect from the next 6 weeks. We’re certain that at least some locals are hoping for a continued run of hazy, hot and humid, since New England winters are always long and hard. Free and open to anyone on the Harbor Walk!