It is hard to believe, after such a long, cold winter that led to a gloomy, wet spring, but summer has officially arrived in the Shiretown.
Temperatures soared into the low 90s this past weekend, sending residents to their pools or to the lake. Our children decided both were in order Sunday, so after church they jumped into the pool for a bit before we headed to the lake for a couple of hours. And then upon our return home, it was back into the pool for more splishing and splashing. Ahhh, to be a kid again.
All of this warm weather comes just as Houlton’s Agricultural Fair is gearing up for another busy four-day festival at Houlton’s Community Park. Fair organizers are hoping that the extreme heat breaks in time for the gates to open because if it’s too hot and sunny, gate receipts drop.
The Fourth of July and Houlton go hand-in-hand. It is a time for family gatherings and barbecues. It is also a time for graduates of Houlton High School, as well as those from neighboring schools, to return home for class reunions and relive times from their youth. For many, coming home over the Fourth of July is a tradition like no other. Take a stroll down Main Street or at the fairgrounds and you are sure to bump into someone you have not seen in years.
Most anyone who ever attended Houlton’s Agricultural Fair as a youth has fond memories of spending hours upon hours at Community Park, going on rides, eating Fair food, watching truck pulls or demolition derbies and of course, the fireworks shows.
The fair committee has done an admirable job coming up with a variety of events aimed to please all age groups with livestock, midway rides, demolition derby and the always popular truck pulls returning for the simple all-inclusive admission of $10.
The Mr. and Miss Firecracker and Sparkler pageants return this year. The pageant begins at 6 p.m. at the Gentle Memorial Building on Wednesday, July 2 to officially kick off the holiday.
The fair gates swing open at 9 a.m. Thursday with “Children’s Day” events filling up nearly every hour of the day. If ice cream eating contests, pig scrambling, egg tossing and hula hooping sound appealing to your child (or inner child), then the fair is the place to be.
Midnight Madness also kicks off its celebration Thursday, July 3 with a wide variety of events slated in the downtown area. Once again, a portion of Market Square will be closed to traffic and transformed into a street fair atmosphere with sidewalk sales, street vendors, car shows and music. Fireworks will once again illuminate downtown near the Gateway Crossing Bridge around 9:45 p.m.
On Friday, July 4, Houlton’s Agricultural Fair opens at 8 a.m., followed by the town parade, sponsored by the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, at 10 a.m. Speak to anyone who watches the parade, and chances are they have “the best spot” picked out every year. For some, it is near the Cary Library, while others enjoy being in Market Square and countless more fill Pierce Park near the Houlton Police Department in order to catch the parade twice (as it heads down Main Street and comes back up Military Street).
The Houlton Pioneer Times office will be closed Friday, but Gloria Austin and myself will be out covering the events for all to see in the following week’s edition. The staff of the newspaper wishes everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.
