CARIBOU, Maine – The Caribou Arts & Craft Fair marked 50 years Saturday as The County’s largest gathering of artisans and local craft enthusiasts.
Within minutes of the 10 a.m. opening, hundreds filled Caribou High School’s gymnasium and cafeteria, eyeing crafts from 137 vendors. Though mostly from across Aroostook County, other crafters came from as far south as Greenville. They sold everything from photography and artwork to handmade ornaments, purses and clothing to holiday decorations, hand sewn blankets and jewelry and more.
At a large booth just past the gym entrance, Gert Thibodeau of Fort Kent sold oil paintings and painted wooden boxes of her own creation.
Thibodeau has been an oil painter and art instructor for 42 years and mostly sells and teaches art in the St. John Valley. But she has never missed Caribou’s craft fair.
“It’s amazing all the talent and time people put into their work, and people should be appreciative of that,” Thibodeau said. “You could leave here with gifts for the whole year for all ages.”
Next to Thibodeau’s booth, Doris and James Cushman of Caribou sold stone jewelry that they made from scratch, as well as rocks, minerals and gemstones.
The Cushmans have been making jewelry and polished stones for 26 years after James took a college geology class. Their long, three-table display attracted many shoppers and onlookers from the start of the fair.
“We could easily see 700 to 800 people on the first day,” Doris Cushman said. “We love seeing all the people.”
The fair has become an early kickoff to the holiday shopping season, with many hoping to score the best gifts. Susan Gilson of Presque Isle, who comes to Caribou’s fair every year, was glad to have found Christmas decorations during her latest trip.
“There’s so many different things you can find,” Gilson said.
The busy crowds are a far cry from the fair’s more humble beginnings. In 1973, the late Asher and Martha Chambers, local artists and business owners, launched the first iteration of the craft fair at the former Caribou Armory as a display-only event.
Since then, the event has evolved into the larger-scale craft celebration of today, and was only canceled once, in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.
“People know that the third weekend in October is Caribou’s craft fair, and that we have the best artists around,” said Gary Marquis, superintendent of Caribou Parks & Recreation. “They look forward to this every year.”
