PORTLAND, Maine (July 18, 2007) – The Maine Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will kick off its 26th Annual MS Harborfest weekend beginning Thursday, August 16th continuing through Sunday, August 19th. The proceeds from this four-day waterfront event go to the local chapter to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis and to provide programs, assistance, and support for the 3,000 Maine families who live with the disease. Approximately one in every 400 Maine residents has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a prevalence rate approximately 70% higher than the national average.
Returning for the fourth year as the event’s Presenting Sponsor is the Portland law firm Verrill Dana, LLP.
On Thursday evening, August 16th, a Benefit Auction featuring auctioneer Tom Saturley will start the weekend celebration at the Woodlands Club in Falmouth. There will be hundreds of unique items donated by local artists and merchants. The title sponsor for the 23rd MS Harborfest Benefit Auction is Bangor Savings Bank.
On Friday evening, August 17th, a sponsor and skippers reception for the sailboat regatta will take place at Handy Boat in Falmouth.
On Saturday, August 18th, the annual MS Harborfest Parade of Sail will take place in Portland harbor. More than a hundred boats will display their colors with skippers, crew and sponsors aboard. Following the parade, boats will compete for position at the starting line off Ft. Gorges for the annual sailboat race. The MS Harborfest Regatta is the largest regatta in Maine and the largest charity sailing event in the Northeast. The MS Harborfest Regatta is sponsored by Mercedes Benz of Greenwich
Also on Saturday, the 5th annual MS Harborfest Powerboat Poker Run will take place on Casco Bay. New for 2007, the Poker Run has been moved to DiMillo’s Marina. Registration opens at 8:00 a.m., and participating boats rally off of Ft. Gorges at 10:30 for a parade through Portland Harbor and the start of the Poker Run. A new, shorter course will include six card-stops at local marinas where participants pick up a playing card in a sealed envelope. Back at DiMillo’s for a barbeque and awards party, they will receive a seventh card, and the participants with the highest poker hands win valuable prizes. A rain date has been set for Sunday.
On Sunday, August 19th, the annual MS Harborfest Tugboat Parade and Muster and MS Harborfest Shoreside Festival will take place on the Maine State Pier. The MS Harborfest Tugboat Muster and Shoreside Festival is sponsored by Bangor Saving Bank. The tugboats will be docked at the Maine State Pier, surrounded by a festival featuring exhibitions, food and entertainment. In the afternoon, the tugboats will participate in dramatic push-pull competitions and races on Casco Bay.
Also on Sunday, August 19th, the SS John W. Brown, Liberty Ship, will be docked at the Maine State Pier and open for afternoon touring starting at 12:30 and continuing till 6:00 p.m. The Brown is one of the last two Liberty Ships still floating today. This remarkable ship, over 440 feet long, made 13 wartime voyages to the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean before serving as a floating nautical high school from 1946-1982, preparing graduating students for the Merchant Marines, U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.
Each year the MS Harborfest weekend brings the community together in the effort to raise money to fund research and support local programs. Verrill Dana Managing Partner David Warren said, “Our goal is to find a cure for this debilitating disease, which impacts so many in our community and throughout the state.” The Portland-based law firm is the Presenting Sponsor of the MS Harborfest through 2008.
Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.
The National MS Society offers 50 state network chapters and helps those living with MS address the challenges of living with the disease. The National MS Society funds more MS research, provides more services to people with MS, offers more professional education and furthers more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. The Maine Chapter represents an estimated 3,000 people with MS in the state. Join the movement at www.nationalmssociety.org and visit the Maine Chapter at www.msmaine.org.