Houlton’s Community Park was the place to be this past weekend for the annual Moosestompers Weekend winter carnival celebration. Each year, it is amazing how many people come out to volunteer their time and efforts to pull off this fantastic event for the community.
Bitterly cold weather Friday evening put a damper on some of that day’s attendance for sliding under the lights. Many brave souls however gathered at Military Street Baptist Church on top of Drake’s Hill for an evening of snowshoeing under a full moon.
Saturday warmed up a little, and residents were out in force for a full day of outdoor activities. Thanks to a massive bonfire inside the park spectators were able to keep warm around the fire, while children enjoyed pristine conditions on the sliding hill.
New this year was a cardboard derby race, where people were asked to construct sleds made solely from cardboard, and a little bit of duct tape. A number of entries featured well-crafted sleds in various shapes and sizes, including a castle.
You would think cardboard gliding down a well-groomed snow trail would result in some fairly quick times. The opposite was the case as race times wound up being much slower than organizers anticipated. After the first entrant took more than a minute to reach the finish line, they thankfully decided to cut the course in half.
Hopefully the event returns next year, with people devoting a little more research into how they can make their creation glide more quickly down the hill. Local business could also get involved and have an “adult” division pitting merchants against one another for bragging rights or maybe even a championship trophy they could display throughout the year.
The exhibit hall was a popular place as well, thanks to the heat. The Houlton Ladies Fire Department Auxiliary were inside selling goodies, while Louisiana Pacific gave out free hand warmers, much to the delight of the many people who attended.
Joel Duff and his horse-drawn hayrides were another popular attraction for families as the team ventured around the backwoods area of Community Park.
Free public skating at the Millar Civic Center was a big hit with many individuals as the rink was filled to near capacity Saturday afternoon. And for those who did not want to skate, Bangor Savings Bank sponsored a free magic show in the upstairs conference room of the arena featuring Conjuring Carroll the magician. A large group gathered for his impressive, and comedic show, which was geared toward children.
While there was certainly no lack of snow, the family snowman contest failed to generate much interest. Perhaps it was because the snow was not conducive to creating snowmen. Maybe next year, organizers could convince students from Houlton High School to resurrect their snow sculpture competition and have a designated area for them to create masterpieces? People could then vote on which creation they like the best.
On Sunday, the events began to wind down in the park. Downtown, however, the Temple Theatre was the place to be for a free family matinee. Sponsored by the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce and S.W. Collins, the theatre was filled to capacity, with people having to be turned away at the door, for an afternoon showing of the new “SpongeBob” movie.
Kudos to everyone involved in putting together such a massive undertaking for the community.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect that of the newspaper. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.
