The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance in co-operation with Trout Unlimited will host a free family fishing festival on Saturday, May 31. The festival will be held at the Grand Summit Hotel Pond at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine. Free casting workshops and fly-tying instruction will be available throughout the day.

Members of the Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited will teach the workshops. Instruction will follow the curriculum developed by Trout Unlimited’s “First Cast” program for Kids. Instruction will include both spin casting and fly casting for older youth and parents. Maine’s Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs Program will supply complimentary rods and reels for use at the festival.

Families can practice newly learned casting skills in the Grand Summit Pond and are welcome to take home their catch. The pond will be stocked with trout courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance will provide each young angler with a mini-tackle box complete with bobber, sinkers and hook.

Kids can learn how to tie flies with materials provided by TU and fibers from Sunday River Alpacas. Every child will be able to take home a hand-tied fly.

Exhibitors include the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife with a mobile unit information booth, the Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs Program; Mainefishingtoday.com; and The Maine Conservation School of Bryant Pond, a camp facility for juniors and adults offering programs in Maine’s traditional outdoor activities.

Families are welcome to bring a pack lunch. An outdoor barbecue and cold drinks will be available at the festival. All parents and kids registering for the event will be eligible for prizes including outdoor and fishing equipment from sponsors, local outfitters and businesses.

The weekend of May 31 and June 1 is a free fishing weekend in Maine. Resident and Non-resident freshwater fishing licenses are waived each day. June 1 is the first day of National Fishing & Boating Week, a program of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. RBFF is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating and thereby increase public awareness and appreciation of the need for protecting, conserving and restoring the nation’s aquatic and natural resources.

The Bethel Family Fishing Festival is one many nationwide events that provide families with an opportunity to have fun on the water. For those families wishing to stay overnight and fish or canoe the Androscoggin River on Sunday, special family packages are available for the weekend at local lodging establishments.

For information on the Family Fishing Festival, contact the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance at 1-877-275-3363 or on line at www.upperandro.com.