MAPLETON NEWS
by Jennifer Buzza
Camp owners at Scopan Lake (formerly known as Squapan Lake) celebrated the eighth annual Fun Fest activities just a day late because of heavy rains thanks to Tropical Storm Arthur. Originally scheduled for Saturday, July 5, the events were moved to Sunday, July 6 by organizers.
The day kicked off with a bike parade at noon. Several participants chose to dress up themselves, as well as their bicycles, to keep with this year’s “Halloween Happenings” theme. Adults and children rode their bicycles down the Bangor Road, where they were met with volunteers handing out participation prizes. From there, everyone returned to the landing to make fairy and troll houses. Over 15 children and adults gathered to show their creativity making their versions of houses using primarily items from nature. Following the craft time, five teams met lakeside to take part in a new event, a paddle boat race. Four teams of two and one team of three boarded paddle boats to race from the landing dock to an anchored mooring out on the lake and back. The winning team was 12-year-olds Graydon Griffeth and Blake Parady of Fort Fairfield.
An annual Fun Fest tradition is the sawdust toy hunt, where, this year, Halloween-themed toys and candy were buried in a pile of sawdust. Fifteen children, ages two to 12 took turns digging with their hands for as many treats as they could find to fill their bags. Everyone left with big smiles and full bags! In between activities, children were invited to select from Halloween-themed washable tattoos to have applied to their skin by volunteer and camp owner Ginny Cole of North Berwick.
Before departing for the afternoon, family scavenger hunt lists were handed out. Those racing to find all 50 items had nearly three hours to do so and met back at the landing to have them checked and verified. Five families didn’t let the rain hamper their efforts and all met at 6:30 p.m. to see who found the most items. After a very close finish, the Keiser family of Presque Isle defended their title, successfully finding 48 of the 50 items, and was named scavenger hunt winners. They received the grand prize and the other four families all received participation prizes for their efforts.
Immediately following the scavenger hunt, interested camp owners met at the camp of Gary and Avice Jarvis to play in a cribbage tournament. After completing five games, Rick Langley Jr. of Scopan Lake defended his title, winning all five games. The day was to conclude with a movie under the stars, but the rain caused those plans to be postponed to another time.
Camp owners participated in the annual Camp Decorating Contest, decorating with a fall/Halloween theme. Judges tabulated the results after a daytime and nighttime viewing. The winner was to be announced at the annual camp owners’ meeting Sunday, July 13.
Birthdays
Birthday wishes this week go out to Olivia Edgecomb, Edward Christie, Angela Rider, Shae Michaud, Wendy Copeland, Renee Guerrette, Alan Wilcox, Robert Greenier, Morgan McGary, Able Madore, Parker Sawyer, Reno Boucher Jr., Charles Copeland, Sheila Shaw and Josh Fisher.
Anniversaries
Happy anniversary this week to Brent and Duska Boyles on the 18th, and Neil and Michelle Ewing, Shawn and Christi Doyen, and Zack and Julie Powers on the 19th.
Jennifer Buzza is the correspondent for Mapleton, Castle Hill and Chapman. She can be reached at 760-9115 or by email at jbuzza@ainop.com.
