We had a meeting this morning to start the ball rolling on this coming August’s Caribou Cares About Kids celebration. Let me tell you that I left that meeting very excited about some of the plans. While I am not overly fond of “Caribou Cares About Kids” as a town slogan (after all, every city cares about kids, right?), I do think the event is terrific. And this year, it has been infused with some new ideas.
While I cannot yet list the details until they are nailed down, I think you are going to say, “Way cool!” when you do hear them. The three-day event from Thursday, Aug. 8, through Saturday, Aug. 10, will feature three main thoroughfares for events. Sweden Street will be one on Thursday, High Street will be another on Friday and then Bennett Drive will be the focus of Saturday events.
But if these ideas take flight and come to pass, those three streets will be just the start of coolness happening all over the city. Stay tuned for more details.
But before I put the topic to rest, here is one more thought: This is an event that many people, businesses, churches and organizations can sink their teeth into. How would you or your business, church or your organization want to be a part of the celebration? Event sponsorships, running events or fundraisers during the celebration and volunteering to assist with the various functions are just a few of the ways you can be involved. Call Kathy at the Rec Department or me and let’s talk about it.
Oh! One more thing: The theme of the celebration and the parade is, “Caribou is on the Move!” So get those float ideas going!
I visited Works of Heart this week at their new store on Bennett Drive (fabulous place!) and one thing caught my eye. Behind the counter is a map of the United States. When folks visit from out of town, the Marretts ask the visitors to sign their guest book. Great idea! But then, the store-owning couple put a pin on the map representing the origination of the visitor. Another great idea!
But what caught my eyes was how many pins there were from all over the country. If you think no one comes to Caribou, you would be dead wrong. People come here from all over the country. That map is proof.
And that leads me to my next topic. On the back page of last week’s Aroostook Republican was a poem submitted by David T. Hale of Palmer, Massachusetts. While I appreciate poetry, since I was an English major at school, this particular poem troubled me. It is obvious that Mr. Hale is a native, now gone, who believes the best days of Caribou are behind it. “Death was your reward,” was one of the lines.
The basic idea of the poem was that the urban renewal project that created the downtown mall and the bypass roads have permanently damaged the city in a way it cannot recover. I could not disagree more strongly.
I will agree that the downtown mall was a detriment to Sweden Street as a commercial and social hub. That is a given. But it is also a given that the closing of the Loring Air Force Base was a blow to our local economy. Given that those two are accepted logic, what are we supposed to do then? Are we supposed to throw up our hands and wish the past was not gone? What good does that do? And to take those logic statements and stretch them to say that Caribou is dead and forever doomed to be a “shell” of its former self, as stated in the work, is something I do not accept.
The past is the past. It is often more charming that the present. But the present demands that we live in the present and make present realities work for us.
Let’s talk about the downtown mall for a second. While it is the elephant in the room for many natives, it is far from an albatross. It has a wonderful gift shop in Brambleberry Market. It has a beautiful jewelry store in Freme’s Jewelry. It has Martin’s Point, a Maine company with highly rated Medicare supplement packages and insurance for military workers. It has one of the coolest businesses in Aroostook in the Maine Dance Academy. It has a busy and visible bank in TD Bank. It has FA Peabody and my friend, Troy Heald. Health Centers have offices there. And I know I am forgetting some. Just about all of those businesses mentioned are Chamber members.
I do not think the mall in Presque Isle has that kind of occupancy rates. Forget the “think” part. I know it does not.
The poem mentions a bowling alley. We have one on Bennett Drive. It mentions a movie theatre. We have one on Sweden Street. It mentions soda shops. We have Sweet Dreams Candy and Bake Shoppe. We have more than the writer thinks we have. Do we want more? Of course we do.
I understand that the writer was going for nostalgia. But his little trip brought to the forefront many of the ideas that our city’s leaders and I are working against. Caribou is not dead. It is alive to possibilities and the future is wide open. The writer left. We are still here. The name of the poem was called, “Who will cry for you, Caribou?” The name of my poem would be, “Who will try for you, Caribou?” And my hand is raised to my own question. Are you with me?
And to prove what I am saying, just about every department of the city is getting together to plan, “Thursdays on Sweden.” What is that, you ask? Beginning June 27, every other Thursday night, we will close off Sweden Street downtown and have some good times as a community. Each is themed differently. June 27 is, “USA Night,” to celebrate our country. July 11 is, “Dunk a Hero” Night where you can dunk a dignitary from the police and the fire department and more. July 25 is, “Pirate Night.” Thursday, Aug. 8 will be, “Teen Night,” with a downtown dance. Aug. 22 will be, “Luau Night” with a pig roast. Thursday, Sept. 5 will be, “International Night.” And Sept. 26 will be, “Potato Night,” as part of a weekend long celebration of, “O.P. Pierson Days.”
We are offering free space to food venders, artists and crafters and we would like to offer each Thursday night to local bands or DJs. To kick things off, we will not be able to pay the bands or DJs, but it might be a good way to get a captive audience and to promote yourselves. If you are interested in being a food or other kind of vender, or would like to be the “band of the night,” please contact me at 498-6156 or e-mail at cacc@cariboumaine.net and we will get you on the list.
Happy Anniversary wishes go to the Caribou Country Club which joined the Chamber in 1987 and to Clukey’s Auto Supply, a member since 2002. Thank you!
Executive Director William Tasker may be reached in the CACC office at 498-6156 or e-mail him at cacc@cariboumaine.net.
