There are events in small towns that are more than events. They become traditions, and then, in time, part of the fabric of a place—woven in with its history, its rhythm, its identity. In New Canaan, that is Lobsterfest.
It began in 1985, not as something grand but as a Rotary Club experiment—lobster and corn at Kiwanis Park. The pavilion was pressed into service, tables were laid, and a few hundred townspeople gathered for a Saturday meal. Three or four hundred lobsters, shucked corn, a lot of butter, and the fellowship of neighbors. It was not just about the food, though the food was very good. It was about being together—neighbors laughing, chatting, catching up, and, over steaming trays of lobster, saying to each other: “This is ours.”
The years rolled on. By the 1990s Lobsterfest had outgrown Kiwanis Park and moved to the grounds of the New Canaan Museum and Historical Society. The event blossomed, stretching from a single Saturday meal to an entire weekend of Friday dinners and Saturday lunches and dinners. The numbers grew—over a thousand lobsters prepared and served in the early 2000s. Parents brought children, who grew up and returned with parents in tow. Traditions repeat themselves that way, across generations. By 2019, in the last year before the pandemic pause, the Rotary volunteers had cooked more than 1,400 lobsters and as many ears of corn, with chicken for the holdouts who didn’t fancy seafood.
And then came Covid. What do you do with a tradition when the world says, “Stop”? New Canaan answered with ingenuity and a little stubbornness. The Rotary pivoted, as we say now. They created a contactless, drive-through Lobsterfest at the Steve Benko Pool. Commercial kitchens prepared the meals, volunteers shucked corn, boxed dinners were passed through car windows by neighbors in masks and gloves. It was different, but it was alive. In the hardest of times, the essence remained: generosity and community.
Now it is 2025. Forty years. A milestone worth pausing over. Co-chairs Amy Murphy Carroll and Kathleen Corbet are carrying the tradition forward with enthusiasm and some fresh ideas. The dates will be Thursday and Friday this year, to accommodate the families caught up in Saturday sports. The dine-in experience returns at Waveny, this time with live music, laughter rising with the steam of pots. The menu itself has grown—still the lobster and lobster rolls, but now filet, surf-and-turf, chicken, vegetarian choices, even children’s meals. There will be something for everyone, because everyone belongs at the table.
And there is this new touch: the chance to buy a meal for first responders. It is a small gesture, but one that says much—gratitude passed along in the form of a warm dinner. It reminds us that traditions endure not only by repetition but by widening their circle of care.
It is worth saying clearly that Lobsterfest is not simply about lobster. It is about Rotary’s mission. As Tom Ferguson, the club’s president, put it plainly: “This is the one we count on; there are many great sponsors and broad support. The best part is all the profit returns to the community through our annual grants program.” Every ear of corn buttered, every roll baked, every lobster cracked open translates into scholarships, support, and service.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed, “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” In New Canaan, the creation of countless grants, programs, and moments of help began with one lobster meal in 1985. Forty years later, the acorn is an oak.
Lobsterfest is a small-town story, which is to say a great American story. It is about constancy, generosity, and the sweet stubbornness of communities that want to remain communities. The Rotary invites us not only to eat but to belong, and in belonging, to give.
