Looking to put Portage Lake “back on the map” for family-friendly vacationing, Shannon Currier is hosting a new September Fest as she turns Portage Lakeside Cabins back into a four-season tourism business.
Growing up in the small village of Oxbox, Currier remembers heading to Portage Lake for day trips in the summer for some of the best swimming in Aroostook County.
“If you wanted to go swimming you went to Portage Beach,” Currier remembers. “The beach was packed.”
Now, after working as a diesel mechanic in the U.S. Marine Corps and successfully running a hunting lodge with her former husband, Currier is looking for ways to get more people to visit Portage Lake and consider staying at the Portage Lakeside Cabins, which she purchased last September.
This year, on Sept. 16, the Lakeside Cabins will host September Fest, a day-long event with games, fishing, kayak races, food, dancing and music stretching to 11 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and includes a dinner with lobster or steak.
“It’s a good time of year. It’s still nice out. It’s good for all ages,” Currier said.
“I would like to put Portage back on the map. We can do more to bring people to town.”
Portage has long been one of Aroostook County’s great summer lakes, home to numerous small vacation homes and a range of seasonal businesses. The Portage Lakeside Cabins has long offered small cabin rentals on its 2.7 acre waterfront property, though in the last decade, the previous owner switched from operating year-round to only in the summer, Currier said.
Currier is taking the business back to year-round rentals and hoping to build a customer base of locals, Mainers and out-of-state visitors.
“Portage is a place where people want to go for peace and quiet but it’s not too far into the woods,” Currier said.
