Cup O’ Joe: Spending the day in Patten

The town of Patten was the place to be this past weekend as the community turned out in large numbers to celebrate the final two days of Patten Pioneer Days. The weeklong celebration went out in style with a busy slate of events Saturday and Sunday.
    This year, I took the family with me to spend the day in Patten to check out all the events. Once again, the Main Street Parade was the “must see” event of the summer in the southern Aroostook area. Each year, Patten residents outdo themselves as they come up with creative ways to get into the festive spirit.
This year’s theme of “Cultures Around the World” resulted in a variety of colorful and entertaining floats. Some of the many cultures showcased included Egyptian princesses, Wild West outlaws and cowboys, Irish dancers, Hillbillies and Native Americans.
Hundreds of residents lined Main Street to witness the event and this year’s parade did not disappoint. The decorations on many of these floats were truly remarkable and reminded me of parades from many years ago when vehicles would be covered in paper carnations, streamers or other decorations. Residents in Patten have no problem dressing up and getting into the spirit of the event.
Two sets of Shriners were also featured in the parade, riding go-carts and mini-bikes. The go-carts rode up and over a vehicle on a ramp, while the mini-bikes did synchronized routines in the street. Our kids got a big kick out of those, especially since they have been hooked on playing Mario Kart for the Nintendo Wii in recent days.
The kids, of course, also loved the amount of candy they were able to bag that came flying from the many parade entries. Many towns have gone away from tossing out candy during parades due to safety concerns. As a parent of young children I can appreciate those concerns. Perhaps a happy medium could be reached, though.
After the parade, the town park and Hangar Pizza were the two places to check out. The park featured a number of children’s games, a petting zoo, volleyball tournament, and music by Fireman Fred Parson (is there any event that Fred does not take part in?)
Over at the Hangar, flying enthusiasts were out in force showing off their airplanes. Small, single engine planes and ultra-lights dotted the sky as they took off and landed in the open fields. People were able to get a closer look at the many aircraft on hand, and my wife even had an opportunity to go up in one thanks to Gene Ross of Houlton. He first asked me if I wanted to take an aerial photo of the events. While I appreciated the offer, flying is not something that I am particularly fond of. I’ve been once and that was enough.
Kudos to Karen McGraw of the Patten Recreation Department, and the town of Patten for putting together another exceptional event. If you missed the parade, mark your calendars for next year and make plans to go to Patten to check it out.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.