The first Camden star was 12 feet tall and built on a wooden frame. It held 100 bulbs of 25 watts each and hung on the Mechanic Street side of French and Brawn Market Place, right in the middle of downtown. Bill Brawn put it up, and he was a Lions Club member at the time. Because of where it hung, according to town historian Barbara Dyer, the only people who could see it were drivers heading south on Route 1 through the village.
That's how the star ended up on the mountain. The downtown merchants suggested moving it to the stone tower on Mount Battie, where all of Camden could see it. The decoration stayed a merchants' idea. It just got a better spot.
This season, the idea comes back to the storefronts. The Camden Area Business Group counts 2026 as the 60th year of the holiday star tradition, dating it to 1966, and it's presenting the 40th annual Christmas by the Sea on the same calendar, December 4 to 6. One of the weekend's events is new this year: a Window Decorating Contest for downtown. A tradition that started on one shop wall is being marked with lit-up shop windows all over the village.
From a Wooden Frame to Steel and LEDs
Once the star moved up the mountain, the Camden Lions Club took over installing it each year and running it every day. Raymond Drinkwater built a bigger star out of steel. In the 1990s that one was replaced by another steel star, strung with 100 more bulb sockets. The Pen Bay Pilot reported in 2020 that this second steel star was still the one in use, with some replacement parts and fresh spray paint but few design changes. By then its frame carried more than 100 LED bulbs.
The star goes up on the World War I Memorial Tower at the summit, and it shines from sunset until just before dawn every night between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. Thirteen hours or so of light every night is a lot of hours for a steel frame and a string of bulbs on an exposed summit. That's a big reason the star depends on more than one organization.
A Volunteer Crew and Two Downtown Stores
A group of local volunteers maintains the star, according to Visit Maine's event listing. When the Pen Bay Pilot covered the 2022 lighting, Randy Stearns, chairman of the Friends of Mt. Battie, credited the Camden Lions Club, Rankin's Hardware and Village Variety with keeping the star lit and in good working order. So more than five decades after the star left French and Brawn, a hardware store and a variety store are still helping keep it running. The merchants who wanted it on the mountain never stopped looking after it.
Camden resident Tom Jackson had worked on the star project for close to 30 years when the Pen Bay Pilot quoted him in 2020, the spring the star came out of storage early and was lit through the first pandemic months:
"I have always felt the Mt. Battie Star to be a symbol of hope and community spirit. We could all get a boost from that symbolism right now."
The Calendar Runs on a 4 O'Clock Clock
The Pen Bay Pilot's 2022 coverage described the first lighting as "always at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day," a small ceremony for a small crowd standing in the November cold. This year Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26.
The same hour shows up at Camden Hills State Park. The park's official page says the Mount Battie Road closes at 4 p.m. daily and closes for the winter on December 1, or earlier if snow blocks it. That makes Thanksgiving week the last stretch of the year you might drive to the summit, and only on days the gate is still open. The park offers a "Get Notified" email and text alert for road updates, and it's worth signing up before you plan a trip up.
Here's how the next few weeks line up:
| Date | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving. The star traditionally lights at 4 p.m. | Mount Battie summit tower |
| Friday, Nov. 27 | Registration deadline for the Gingerbread House Contest | United Midcoast Charities |
| Tuesday, Dec. 1 | Mount Battie Road closes for winter, or earlier with snow | Camden Hills State Park |
| Thursday, Dec. 3 | Window Decorating Contest judging; The Nutcracker at 10 a.m. | Downtown; Camden Opera House |
| Friday, Dec. 4 to Sunday, Dec. 6 | 40th Christmas by the Sea | Downtown and Camden Harbor |
Once the road closes, the mountain is still open. The park is open all year, the road is plowed in winter so people can walk it, and all the trails are open for hiking. That includes the half-mile Mount Battie Trail, which the state rates moderate to strenuous. Park hours run from 8 a.m. to sunset, and the day-use fee is collected year-round. Maine resident adults pay $4.
If you'd rather stay down in the village, the Pen Bay Pilot has photographed the star from Camden's Public Landing, and you can see it from all over town after dark.
December 4 to 6, the Season Comes Back Downtown
Christmas by the Sea is the weekend the star's season turns back toward Main Street. Here's the order of events the Camden Area Business Group has announced for the 40th year:
- Friday evening, December 4: the holiday parade and tree lighting, where Santa makes his first appearance of the weekend.
- Friday, December 4: winners of the new Window Decorating Contest are announced. Judging happens the day before.
- Saturday morning, December 5: Santa arrives by boat in Camden Harbor, his signature entrance.
- Saturday, during Santa's visit: the Sugar Plum Fairy appears at Camden Public Library.
- All weekend: the downtown Nutcracker Search.
- Sunday, December 6: the Holiday Book Fair at the library.
The announcement says more event details are still being finalized. Visit Maine's listing names other weekend traditions: Santa reading "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," photos with Santa and Ellen the Elf, the Walk Through Bethlehem, craft fairs and Christmas markets.
Of all of these, the Window Decorating Contest connects most directly to the star. The tradition began in 1960s Camden with one merchant hanging a star where Route 1 drivers would see it. Sixty seasons later by the Business Group's count, the same downtown is turning its storefronts into a contest that anyone walking through the village can see.
The Same Weekend, Indoors
Two more events land on the festival calendar, and both are good for a cold December afternoon.
The Nutcracker at Camden Opera House. Atlantic Ballet Company brings The Nutcracker to the Opera House at 29 Elm St. for three performances: Thursday, December 3 at 10 a.m., and Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6 at 3 p.m. The Opera House calls it a highlight of Christmas by the Sea. The Saturday show starts a few hours after Santa's boat comes in, so harbor in the morning and ballet in the afternoon fit easily into one day.
The Gingerbread House Contest at the Wharf. United Midcoast Charities is holding its fourth annual Gingerbread House Contest, open to the public on Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's upstairs at Barren's Distillery + Restaurant at the Wharf at Lyman Morse, a location the organizers list as new this year. If you want to enter, the registration deadline is Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving. That means building over a holiday weekend, and it's a good idea to confirm drop-off details directly with United Midcoast Charities.
After the Festival, the Star Stays On
The parade ends, the boats come back in and the windows come down, but the star keeps shining every night through New Year's Eve. By then the auto road has been closed for a month, so a visit to the tower means walking the plowed road or taking the trail. For many Camden residents, a hike up Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park, at 280 Belfast Road, is a New Year's Day tradition, according to the Pen Bay Pilot.
The star is one of our favorite parts of the year. We're the family behind The Uhll Group, working out of 43 Elm Street, just down the block from the Opera House, and we'd love to see you along the parade route or at the harbor on Saturday morning. If you're thinking about a home where you can see Mount Battie's star from the porch, we're glad to talk it over with you. Start Your Midcoast Maine Search.
