YORK —Visitors leaving Maine via the Maine Turnpike on Labor Day will get a farewell wave from state mascots and receive a memento of the state: a moose-shaped cookie cutter and a recipe for shortbread cookies with a Maine maple syrup glaze that’s a favorite of the governor and his family.

This will be the eighth year that mascots Miles the Maine Turnpike Moose, L.L. Lobster and Baxter the Maine Black Bear will say goodbye to visitors, according to the Maine Turnpike Authority.

On Monday, the mascots will be at the York Toll Plaza on the southbound side starting at 11 a.m. Toll collectors will be handing out 15,000 cookie cutter mementos, each with a card from Gov. John Baldacci’s family urging visitors to return in the fall to visit autumn fairs and other events listed on the card. The mementos will be distributed as long as the supply lasts.

Visitors to Maine also can see the mascots as well as the director of Maine’s Office of Tourism tomorrow at 10 a.m. the northbound Kennebunk service plaza. The mascots and Patricia Eltman will form a welcoming committee for guests entering the state at the start of the holiday weekend. Visitors can also preview the cookie-cutter memento as it is unveiled then.