Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 2 : Fall 2010 | Page 57

Houlton

FOSTERING COMMUNITY SPIRIT

Celebrations and events! Reasons to gather and
celebrate important dates and our communities. Reasons to
travel home for the festivities; a home-coming with purpose
and tradition. Community sponsored events bring a wide
variety of benefits into a community. It provides the perfect
opportunity to showcase the local business community while
also providing the perfect networking experience for all who
attend the event.

From celebrating the establishment of our towns, to
local country fairs and crops that sustain us, the County is
a busy place. Nothing speaks more highly of a community
than when folks travel home to once again be a part of the
community that they grew up in, and in some cases it goes
beyond that.

During Houlton’s Midnight Madness event we
discovered a young gentleman who travels back to Houlton
every year for just that event. He did not grow up in Houlton
but had spent his last three years in high school here. Every
year he brings friends and relatives from around the United
States back to Houlton for just this event. We asked him
why and the response was, in his own words “because of
the sense of Community and the reunion of familiar faces
and families.” While he spent the majority of his life living

elsewhere, the County and Houlton are where he feels his
home is. His story is not unique. We sometimes lose sight
of what we have.

How important are the celebrations and events to
our communities? Extremely important. Is it worth the
time and effort to put on these yearly events? Absolutely.
It is more than about the fun and interest it brings. A
single event can and does keep apathy at bay. It brings a
community to life.

How important are you in these ventures that
encourage community spirit? So important that the events
wouldn’t happen without your volunteerism, sponsorship,
donation of time, participation, ideas and cooperation. It’s
as simple as that. Each community is unique and continues
to thrive and grow because of you.

FALL & WINTER 09 Our Communities 55