Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Paintings, jewelry, quilts, woodworking, candles, candy, hand-stitched items — these are just a few of the wide variety of handmade items that were displayed by crafters from near and far at the 39th annual Caribou Fall Arts & Crafts Fair held at Caribou High School on Oct. 27 and 28.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox
Ninety-five-year-old Gerard Belanger displayed the mini potato barrel crafts he makes for his daughter, Patricia Peterson, to sell at the Caribou Fall Arts & Crafts Fair. Peterson has been set up at all 39 of the crafts shows that have been held over the years.
“It was a huge success,” Nakita Cate of the Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce said.
Several hundred craft shoppers passed through the high school gymnasium and cafeteria, checking out the work of the approximately 140 crafters that were set up, according to Chamber officials. Many were veterans of the show, having been in attendance for several years. For some crafters, it was the 39th time they’d set up in the 39 years of the show’s existence.
Among those who have never missed a fair is Patricia Peterson, whose father, Gerard Belanger, has made mini potato barrel crafts and joined his daughter at the fair for the past 25 years or more. Belanger worked for his brother, John Belanger, on his potato farm for 49 years and also worked in the woods.
“When my wife passed away,” Belanger explained, “I needed something to do, so I started making these things.”
Peterson was proud to share that, at 95 years old, her father is still extremely independent and in good health and spirits.
Bethany Anderson, an artist who has also participated in the show for its entire 39 years, was set up again this year with her pen-and-ink drawings and popular Aroostook County calendar.
Anderson has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a pencil in her hand. She studied in Orono and was an art teacher.
Fed up with the lighthouses and lobsters that adorned the only items available as keepsakes to represent Aroostook County, she decided to create artwork that was more apropos of Aroostook culture. She has been selling her calendars featuring scenery from the County’s potato fields and countryside at the arts and crafts fair for 33 years.
Her other creations available for sale include note cards and tablets.
“I like to create useful items,” Anderson commented.
For as many seasoned crafters as there were at the show, there were also newcomers. JayLynn Sheldon was set up for the first time with her repurposed home decor items and woodwork. Farmhouse Greenhouse was also set up for the first year with its homegrown herb mixes.
The flute music that could be heard throughout the gymnasium each day of the show was provided by Sergio Espinoza, originally from Peru and currently residing in Cambridge, Mass. Espinoza and Miguel Bernal, also originally from Peru, were set up in the back of the gym, displaying their homemade flutes and other Peruvian inspired trinkets for sale, along with CDs containing music by Sergio’s musical group, Inkas Wasi. The group plays a variety of Incan instruments, including flutes, drums, percussion and strings.
Inkas Wasi has performed in northern Maine at the University of Maine’s Homecoming in the past. Espinoza discovered the Caribou Arts & Crafts Fair online and decided to bring the group’s music and his crafts to the show to provide area citizens with a taste of Peruvian culture.
Wearing native dress, Espinoza and Bernal often performed live for the crowd during their two days at the fair. The group also performs all over the country, including frequent performances in various spots in Maine such as the Eastport 4th of July parade every year.
Inkas Wasi also offers workshops to schools across the country in an effort to help provide education about other cultures around the world.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox
Inkas Wasi band members Sergio Espinoza, left, and Miguel Bernal, both originally from Peru and currently living in Cambridge, Mass, played a song Peruvian style at the Caribou Fall Arts & Crafts show on Oct. 27.
