This has been a busy summer thus far for the Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce and that is a good thing. The Thursdays on Sweden events have been truly wonderful and have exceeded all of our expectations here in the city. The amount of vendors, participation from the community and the effort put forth by the departments of the city — especially those by the Parks and Rec Department, Public Works, Police and Fire — have been inspirational.
These events, along with a big turnout for things like the Downtown Revitalization Committee meetings, and 10-year planning meetings all show that many people believe that the city of Caribou can be something special if we build on what is already a pretty special foundation. This optimism is starting to drown out those who dwell on the negative. As I have stated before, we have a choice to either continue to pine for the past or we can dream of the future and make it happen. Many people prefer the latter and that is a gratifying thing.
And how about those Thursdays on Sweden, eh? I have received a lot of compliments, but those are misdirected. While the Chamber has played a small part, this has been a collective effort and that effort has been rewarded with amazing results. As I was sitting there selling our new T-shirts, my favorite part of the evening last Thursday was seeing people greet each other in the street with screams and hugs. How nice is it to see that happening on our own Sweden Street instead of at another town’s event!
And there is no respite. Planning for the next Thursdays on Sweden event is already under way. The date is July 25 with a theme of Pirate Day. And planning for the Caribou Cares About Kids event from Aug. 8-12 is also ongoing and is encouraging in that the same folks who have put their heads and hearts together on the Thursday events are working on this one too. I think this one will be our best one yet. It will also be the last one with the “Caribou Cares About Kids” moniker. While we do want to include lots of fun activities for kids, the overall goal is to make this a city-wide celebration for everybody.
If you want to run an event, be a vendor or sponsor some part of the weekend festivities, or, if you want to be a part of the big parade on Friday, Aug. 9, there is a new link on our cariboumaine.net website called, “Popular Forms,” which includes the registration information. Or you can call me here at the Chamber at 498-6156. You can also e-mail me at cacc@cariboumaine.net.
And if that is not enough to look forward to, the HOGs are coming! This weekend (July 18–20), an estimated five-hundred and fifty Harley-Davidson motorcycles will come roaring into Caribou. This will be a culmination of a long process starting with an excellent proposal made by Jenny Coon to the Maine HOG leadership group that won Caribou the event. Many of these 550 riders will have passengers and the bottom line is that business is going to be great this weekend.
The HOG organization has done much to turn around the negative image that motorcycle riders have had throughout the years. These folks are white and blue collar, hard-working folks that give back to their communities and use their love of riding their hogs to a positive benefit. I have really enjoyed working with them. I will enjoy even more seeing our area bustling with business this weekend!
I enjoyed playing this past weekend in the 30th annual Cary Foundation Golf Tournament held at the Caribou Country Club. From my experience, this is one of the best tournaments in northern Maine and it was well attended. The Caribou Country Club and its volunteers did an amazing job of prepping the course and making it a showcase for the event. And then it was all capped off by a wonderful meal prepared by the Par & Grill. Great job, everyone!
And no, I did not play well. But my playing partner won his division, so that was fun at least. I did win a “skin” for getting a birdie on one of the holes.
Happy anniversary wishes go out to Gagnon’s Auto and RV Sales, Inc., which joined the Chamber at this time of year back in 1989 and to Aroostook Federal Savings & Loan, which joined us this time of year way back in 1973. To these long-standing members and great people, thank you for what has been a wonderful partnership.
Executive Director William Tasker may be reached in the CACC office at 498-6156 or e-mail him at cacc@cariboumaine.net.
