CARIBOU, Maine — Live music, bouncy castles, and food vendors were all part of Caribou’s New Eve celebration at the Wellness Center.
Maddy Cakes, a two-year-old local business, not only helped sponsor the event, but also offered baked goods and non-alcoholic cocktails during the event. Sponsored by Sleeper’s of Caribou and Maddy Cakes, the event started at 6 p.m. and ended at midnight when the ball was dropped from the fire department ladder truck. Guests young and old came out to have a good time and ring in the new year.
“I’m from Caribou and just moved back here,” explained business owner Ashley Jackson. “We started this small business and it has really taken off ever since.”
“We don’t just do cakes, we do catering and local events too,” said Jackson. “Tonight we have ‘Mocktails:’ a whole bunch of fruity non-alcoholic drinks, sweet treats, and cupcakes, because that’s what we specialize in. We’ve been doing Sweden Street nights and a few other events with the town, so we’re excited to be here tonight. Caribou definitely needs more events like this, so we’re super happy to be involved.”Jackson runs the business with Mike Brady and her daughter Maddy Jackson, who the business is named after.
Keith Book, a minister and elder at the Caribou Church of Christ, helped sell cookies, cakes, and pies baked by women at the church.
“All proceeds are going to the Hope and Justice Project,” said Book. “We just want to let people know we’re in the community, we care about them, and that we’re here to help.”
Book also sold baked goods for Hope and Justice during 2015’s numerous Thursdays on Sweden events.
According to City Manager Austin Bleess, this is Caribou’s first New Year’s Eve event, but the city hopes to make it an annual event.
“We see communities across the world celebrating New Year’s Eve,” said Bleess, “so we thought, with everything we do for Thursdays on Sweden, let’s add a New Year’s Eve event for families to come out and celebrate.”
“We decided we wanted a New Year’s party at one of our meetings and just went with it,” said Caribou’s Marketing and Event Director Lydia Kieffer. “We’ve been building this event since we finished Thursday’s on Sweden and thought we’d do something free like Thursday’s on Sweden with free food, free entertainment, and a band coming.
“We would love to continue this event for Caribou. If we get a good turnout, it will encourage us to continue in the future,” Kieffer added.
