If you own a house in Lovell, the single most consequential date on the August calendar is not the beer festival or a hike. It is a 7:00 PM meeting on Thursday, August 13, at the Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, where the Kezar Lake Watershed Association is asking residents to weigh in on a proposed shoreland septic ordinance. That is not the pitch most summer roundups lead with. It is the one that matters.
Here is why. The watershed association's own framing for the meeting is direct: shoreline property in Lovell generates roughly 70 percent of the town's tax revenue, and septic systems generally last 20 to 40 years before quiet failures start feeding phosphorus into the lake. Whatever you think of the specific proposal, the number is the story. Almost every other August anchor in town, from the beer cellar at Ebenezer's to the guided walks put on by the land trust, ties back to the same shoreline that pays most of the bills.
Once you see August through that lens, the month organizes itself around three institutions rather than a list of things to do.
The Meeting Itself
The August 13 session at Hobbs is being convened by the Kezar Lake Watershed Association together with FB Environmental Associates and soil scientist David Rocque. The library is at 227 Main Street, and if you cannot make it in person, the desk will launch a Zoom for anyone who emails [email protected] in advance.
Kezar Lake's exceptional water quality is the foundation of our community. It supports the recreation our families enjoy, sustains local businesses, and underpins shoreline property values that generate roughly 70% of Lovell's tax revenue.
— Kezar Lake Watershed Association, in its public meeting invitation on the Hobbs Library calendar
Two useful things to know before you go. The proposal is preventive rather than reactive, aimed at older systems in the shoreland zone rather than at any particular property. And the 20-to-40-year lifespan figure the association cites is a national baseline for conventional septic. If your camp changed hands in the 1990s, the arithmetic is worth doing on your own kitchen table before the meeting rather than during it.
Ebenezer's, And Which Days It Is Actually Open
The other institution running August is Ebenezer's Pub at 44 Allen Road, on the fairway of the Lake Kezar Country Club. Chris Lively bought the pub in 2004 and runs it with his wife, Jen. The cellar holds well over a thousand beers, most of them Belgian, and the taps push more than 35 at a time. The pub is named for George Ebenezer Kezar, who, as the local telling goes, killed a bear with his hands.
The August anchor there is the annual Belgian Beer Festival, which historically starts in mid-to-late August and runs about nine days, with a multi-course food-and-beer tasting menu built around bottles most of the country will never see. Reservations for anything Belgian Beer Festival adjacent go early, and the festival's out-of-town crowd is used to booking the Center Lovell Inn a full season ahead.
Two operational notes worth carrying in your head:
- Current published hours have Ebenezer's open Friday and Saturday, roughly noon to seven, and closed the rest of the week. That is a seasonal pattern, and it can change without much notice, so call 207-925-3200 before you drive over.
- The pub also pours its own Lively Brewing beers, including Black Albert, alongside the imports. If you want a snapshot of the cellar without committing to the full festival menu, a Friday afternoon table is the least-friction way in.
If you have out-of-town family visiting and they want the Ebenezer's experience without the wait, the Center Lovell Inn is about a five-minute drive and books up fast for festival week.
The Land Trust Is Doing More Than You Think This Month
The Greater Lovell Land Trust, based at 208 Main Street, was established in 1985 and protects land across the Kezar Lake, Kezar River, and Cold River watersheds. Executive Director Erika Rowland leads a rotating weekly summer walk that moves between GLLT properties, including places most residents drive past without stopping, like the Wilson Wing Moose Pond Bog Preserve. Puddle Ducks, the free themed program for children six and under with a caregiver, keeps running through the summer, and monthly homeschool outings for ages 7 to 13 continue as well.
The trust also co-sponsors programs with the Hewnoaks Artist Residency on the hill over Kezar Lake, including a cyanotype workshop led by artist and residency manager Brian Smith where participants gather plants and print with sunlight on paper and tote bags.
One practical warning the trust puts at the top of its own site: cell service across the greater Lovell area is limited. If you are meeting a group at a trailhead, screenshot the directions before you leave the village.
Sabattus Mountain, For The Guest Who Wants A Hike
Sabattus is the go-to for out-of-town visitors who have exactly one afternoon. It is a 177-acre property owned by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and jointly managed with GLLT, with a 1,253-foot summit and a 1.3-mile loop trail open dawn to dusk. Turning right at the loop split is the traditional ascent, with shorter but steeper climbs; the left side is longer and gentler. From the Lovell village office at 208 Main Street, drive north on Route 5 for about 4.5 miles, right on Sabattus Road for about 1.5 miles, and stay right onto Sabattus Trail Road, a small dirt road, for close to a mile to the trailhead on your right. The old observation tower at the loop junction is gone; only the base remains, which surprises people who have not been up in a decade.
The Library As Switchboard
Hobbs Library is a private library with a public mission, and in August it doubles as the town's meeting room. Director Jennifer Dupree keeps the schedule stacked well past the septic meeting. Late July into August has already carried talks like Moira Yip's account of searching for snow leopards and throat singers in a changing Mongolia. The ongoing Mahjong group, open to anyone from age 10 up, runs on a signup basis through board president Joe Ferigno at 207-925-2848.
Public hours per the state library directory:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday–Wednesday | 9:00–5:00 |
| Thursday | 9:00–7:00 |
| Friday | closed to standard hours; check event calendar |
| Saturday | 9:00–1:00 |
Thursday's extended evening is the one that matters for August 13. Get there early. The septic conversation is going to draw more people than a typical talk, and the room is not enormous.
A Resident's Short List For The Rest Of The Month
If you already live here, the value of a post like this is triage, not discovery. In rough priority:
- Put August 13 at 7:00 PM on the calendar. If you own on the shoreline, the ordinance under discussion will affect what you can and cannot do with an aging system. If you own off the water, the same conversation affects the tax base that funds the town.
- Call Ebenezer's midweek to lock in a Friday or Saturday seat before Belgian Beer Festival week collapses the reservation book. If you want festival tickets specifically, ask about the schedule when you call.
- Check the GLLT calendar on Monday morning for the week's walk location. Erika Rowland's rotation is the fastest way to see corners of the watershed you have never actually stepped into.
- Save Sabattus for a clear-sky day and pair it with a stop at Center Lovell Market for sandwiches on the way up or down. Give small children and dogs room at the summit; the cliffs there drop off sharply.
- If you have visitors in town, the Hewnoaks cyanotype workshop and a Hobbs speaker are two low-lift ways to give them a Lovell afternoon that does not require driving to North Conway.
When You Are Ready To Talk Property
A month like this is a reminder that the paperwork on a lake house in Lovell is different from the paperwork on a house in most other parts of Maine. Shoreland zoning, septic age, watershed rules, and the insurance side of seasonal and waterfront ownership all sit on the same desk. That is the desk we have been sitting at since 1934.
If the August 13 meeting has you thinking about your own system, your coverage, or what your camp is actually worth in the current market, James Oberg and the team at Oberg Insurance & Real Estate in Bridgton are a phone call away. We would rather answer the question early than clean up after it.
