Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
VISITING — Karen Donato, center, of the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum visits with a couple during the annual Southern Aroostook Trade Show held last weekend at Millar Civic Center.
By Jane Torres
Special to Pioneer Times
If you happened to miss this year’s Southern Aroostook Trade Show held last weekend at the Millar Civic Center, you missed a truly great event.
The doors opened at 9 a.m. on Saturday and throughout the day more than 1,000 people streamed in to view 46 vendors who had taken the three days before to set up elaborate displays guaranteed to draw the crowd.
Sunday brought an additional 600, some who had already been through on Saturday, but simply had so much fun that they wanted to come back for another viewing!
The sold-out event showcases Aroostook County businesses dedicated to bringing their product to the community in a festive-like environment. No pressure, no expectations, just an opportunity to share whatever it may be that they want to promote. The variety of businesses pleased the crowd and made the event fun for everyone.
Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
EXCITED — Dwayne Blackwell, right, of Inject A Seal and his partner, seated, talk with a gentleman at their booth Saturday during the Southern Aroostook Trade Show. The annual two-day event drew more than 1,600 to the Millar Civic Center.
RVs, tools, ATVs, lawn mowers, tractors, tires, windows, building trusses, motorcycles, nursery stock, digital marketing, crafts, tourism, were just a few of the items on display. There were home improvement ideas galore, including equipment to make the care of your home easier and more enjoyable and experts to talk you through landscaping. If you are one of those people who are always planning for the next season there were representatives to help you save on energy costs in the coming year.
Truthfully though, the best part of the Southern Aroostook Trade Show has to be the community of people who come to see their neighbors and friends and to support area businesses. The joy of walking around and stopping to see what the store down the street has to offer and to talk to them in a friendly, low pressure environment is priceless. You might think that those robins outside are the harbingers of spring, but here at the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, we believe that the trade show is the first true sign! Thank you so much for your support.
