CARIBOU, Maine — A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to bring the community of Caribou an evening of family fun every other week throughout the summer. Thursdays on Sweden wouldn’t be the success it is without the hard work of many men and women, city employees and members of the public.
One of the unsung heroes behind Thursdays on Sweden is Superintendent of the Caribou Parks and Recreation, Gary Marquis.
“Volunteering in the community consumes much of his spare time,” Lydia Kieffer, Caribou’s marketing and event director, said. “Gary has certainly been a huge help to me in running off pre-existing events such as Thursdays on Sweden and is always a helpful source, with a wealth of information while planning future events.”
Kieffer said Marquis arrives on Sweden Street well before the event and helps set up the band stand, the garbage cans, sweeps the street of any trash, direct’s traffic and still has time to help run the event. “Gary has truly helped shape what used to be a vague event idea to what it is today, a significant event in Caribou.”
According to Marquis, Thursdays on Sweden begins in late winter with lining up musical acts. “This year we were able to get a major sponsor for the musical acts. Sitel has donated $10,000 towards this,” he said.
Marquis noted that Kieffer has also been working hard to find more sponsors to help defray the costs of the musical acts, and those who’ve donated — Monica’s, Daigle Oil Co., Porvair Filtration, Machias Savings Bank, Plourde and Plourde Arctic Cat/Ski-Doo, Soderberg Construction, Save-A-Lot, Haney’s Building Specialties, United Insurance, S.W. Collins, Griffeth Ford and Cary Medical Center — have made their jobs a little easier.
“This year we wanted to be able to get a few acts from away and so far the response has been very positive. Where else can you go and enjoy a free concert and great food every other Thursday in the summer,” Marquis said.
The list of vendors grows for each event. “The biggest challenge has been finding enough room for all the vendors. The week of the event is the most hectic we start emailing and calling each vendor to make sure that they will be attending, so this takes some time to accomplish,” he said.
The day of the event Marquis makes sure that the porta-potties are in, the beer garden is clean and free of cigarette butts, and around 4:30 p.m. Marquis and his team head down, and set up the band stage provided by the Caribou Public Works.
“I have a few staff that help out on these nights. Adorned with their bright green vests and clipboards we start bringing in the vendors at 5 p.m. sharp, this is when it is most hectic, trying to get Sweden Street clear of any patrons left. We have worked very hard not to disrupt the business community.”
As the evening progresses public works director, Dave Ouellette, will barricade the side streets as to keep traffic out of Sweden Street, and the vendors roll in shortly afterward.
“Once 6 p.m. rolls in then it is a matter of making sure everyone is happy,” Marquis said. “I am there to help with electrical issues that might arise, and we are also making a big effort to not allow kids to ride around on bikes as this could get dangerous as we have had as much as 1,500 people during one of the events. As the night goes on I will go around and check on the trash situation. We provide eight 50-gallon barrels for all to use.”
When the clock strikes nine the music stops and cleanup begins.
“All trash barrels are rolled to the band stage, and once the band has cleaned out off the stage this is where all the barrels and bags get transported back to the public works,” Marquis said. “Once everyone has cleared out of Sweden Street this is when myself and my son Sebastian will make a final walk through of Sweden Street.”
Come Friday morning at around 5, Marquis’ head custodian, Nathan Germain, will go down and pick up any trash that may have been missed in the dark.
“So as you can see there are many people that volunteer to make Thursdays on Sweden a huge success,” Marquis said.
