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If you love lobster and you have a competitive streak, you may want to enter one of five lobster-eating contests being held at some of Maine's summer festivals.

Ten contestants at each of the five festivals will be chosen on a first-come, first-serve basis. They'll be given four cooked Maine lobsters and will be required to shuck and eat the tail meat, both claws and knuckles, and at least two of the legs. Technique is not important. Only speed matters. However, participants will be given some tips on traditional techniques for shucking and picking lobsters.

The Wicked Good Band will perform at each of the five festivals and will perform their new song about eating Maine lobsters, as well as sharing lobster facts and anecdotes with the crowd.

The five festivals participating in the contest are:

• Bar Harbor Seafood Festival, July 3
• Wells Harbor Fest, July 11
• Rockland Lobster Festival, August 5
• Union Fair, August 28
• Blue Hill Fair, September 3

All five winners will recieve a free gourmet kit. Four of the five winners will participate in the World Championship Maine Lobster Eating Contest in Kennebunport, an event sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, whose members are professional eaters. Who knew?