Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 6 : Fall 2010 | Page 60

Greater Fort Kent
Winterville Plantation to the town of Allagash
and North East to St. Agatha

As many of you have already heard the 10th
Mountain Lodge will be holding their second E.ON
Ruhrgas IBU World Cup event in February, 2011.
This in itself would be a huge event for Aroostook
County but this year will be even more special with
a second E.ON Ruhrgas IBU World Cup event
being held at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque
Isle!!! The marketing capabilities of such events are
extraordinary which should generate large amount
publicity and hopefully bring many people to the
County.

Here are a few facts to give everyone a
measure of how large these events may be. It is
expected to have extensive broadcast coverage
by 5 international networks. It is anticipated that
from these broadcasts, there will be 120 million
impressions generated throughout Europe and North
America. The last World Cup in 2004 attracted 20,000
spectators and it is expected that even more biathlon
goers will attend the 2011 E.ON Ruhrgas World Cup
event. So as you can see this has the potential to
have a huge impact for many communities.

This is a great opportunity for the County
but it is extremely important that everyone be
prepared and contributes in any way that may be
possible. There are endless opportunities for people
to get involved in the overall celebration. The first
is those with time to volunteer and are interested in
doing so, should get in contact with your local event
organizers. They will be more than happy to put you
to work and will be able to find a task to utilize your
talents.

The second is if you are a business or
organization, do things to promote yourself and this
58 Our Communities

FALL 2010

will help add to the festivities as well. One example
of this would be decorating store fronts or having
specials for those two weeks. This is not limited to
just those entities within the towns of Fort Kent and
Presque Isle but, it is equally important that other
communities welcome the tourists into their towns
as well.

The third option in getting involved is if you
have a house, spare room, or a camp that is vacant;
make it available to spectators. Housing will be a
major task to ensure everyone has a place to stay.
By folks opening up their homes this will guarantee
that there will be room for all people who may be
interested in attending events. A subcommittee has
been formed to match interested individuals up with
prospective spectators who are in need of housing.
Simply call 1(800) SEE-FKME if you are interested
in either leasing housing or looking for available
accommodations.

For those individuals who are from away
and also those living in the county, if you have the
ability, you should make every attempt to come
and witness such events. Spectators will have the
opportunity to see many Olympians who participated
in the Vancouver Olympics. Not only is biathlon a
fun sport to watch, spectators will get to enjoy all the
entertainment and festivities. At the event in 2004
it was said that it was the biggest party ever seen in
our area, this year will be even bigger and better.

Please consider being a part of either or both
E.ON Ruhrgas IBU World Cup venues. Remember
also, that just because you don’t live in Fort Kent or
Presque Isle, it doesn’t mean that you can’t be part
of these wonderful events and contribute greatly.