Staff Writer
HOULTON — The snow has finally left the ground and with the hope of warm weather in sight, it’s time for the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce to begin its outdoor activities.
Last year, thousands of people flocked to Houlton to celebrate the town’s 200th birthday. Lori Weston, the executive director for the Chamber says she’s confident that this summer’s turn-out will be just as successful as last year’s.
“Last summer, certainly the bicentennial celebration really gave cause for more people to participate in things, and last year we had over 3,000 for Midnight Madness,” she explained. “This year Midnight Madness falls on the first day of the Houlton Agricultural Fair so there will be lots of people around and it’ll be a great opportunity for people to enjoy the sales that are offered and the merchants are really great too. I think it’s going to be a really great summer, especially with local people it’s going to be costly to travel so it’ll be fun to stay around and see what’s going on here.”
Weston said the chamber is currently working on the summer schedule of events for July and August. She said people rely highly on that schedule to stay informed and she and her assistant, Cyndi Scott, are hard at work getting it ready.
“We’ll have that ready and out by June 1 and than Midnight Madness is July 3 and we are asking the help of the area merchants to come up with a theme this year and we’ve had a couple of submissions already. On July 5 the arts and crafts fair in Monument Park and crafters are already signing up for that and on Aug. 22 and 23 are potato feast days as well as another arts and crafts fair event,” she explained. “We fill up quickly with the craft fair, so if you’re considering it, you may want to get your application in and do that quite early because there is a discount for early people. As far as Midnight Madness goes that just happens on its own.
“We create the events that happen throughout that, but there’s nothing for merchants to sign up for and we’re constantly working on those events,” she added.
As always, the chamber strongly encourages people to shop locally in order to keep the area’s economy strong.
“Shopping locally really benefits all of us and we always encourage people to do that,” said Weston. “The Chamber gift certificate program works really well as an avenue to do that.”
For more information on upcoming events, contact Weston or Scott at 532-4216 or visit their Web site at www.greaterhoulton.com.
