The 40th Annual Caribou Fall Arts & Crafts Festival is in the books and what a fantastic chapter it turned out to be. This was my first as Chamber director and I was as nervous as a groom on his wedding day. And like that groom, I may have forgotten a few lines but this turned out to be a big hit despite whatever “learning experiences” I may have encountered.
Several vendors stated that this was the best traffic they had seen at the event in years. Certainly on Saturday, the parking lot was full right out to the Woodland Center Road and back off on the side to Sweden Street. There were cars from New Brunswick and we saw folks from Ashland, Presque Isle, Madawaska and Fort Kent and from down south as far as Millinocket. Even Sunday saw more traffic than normal.
Such a busy show is great for business and I was happy for the vendors and for the area. The renewal rate for next year was excellent, the door prizes plentiful and despite any missteps I may have taken, everything was a big success.
Such an event cannot occur without a lot of effort. Not knowing how much work went into this made me appreciate the work that Jenny Coon had done in the past to make these events happen. Much thanks goes to her for her willingness to give advice and to be there to answer questions in the months leading up to the show.
Much thanks goes to the volunteers that helped ready the gym and cafeteria before the show started. There was a man and two high school students that helped a lot. I did not catch his name. But thank you! A shout out and thank you also goes to the volunteers of the Loring Job Corps. A special thank you goes to the high school custodial staff, the two gentlemen from the post office that helped deliver the floor mats to cover the floor and to James and Doris Cushman who spent a couple hours mapping and marking the spaces for the show.
After the show was over, much thanks goes to Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland and to Peggy Smith for helping me break it all down. Also, a big thank you goes to my wife, Jayne, for giving up her weekend to sit at the Caribou Chamber table taking 50/50 and door prize raffle tickets and for signing up vendors for next year’s show.
All in all, this will be a great memory and I am very grateful for the help, the vendors, the people who came to the show and for the way it all turned out.
Executive Director William Tasker may be reached in the CACC office at 498-6156 or e-mail him at cacc@cariboumaine.net.
