NMCC to host Kinderfest event

    PRESQUE ISLE – Families in and around Aroostook County are invited to participate in Kinderfest, a German-themed event hosted by Northern Maine Community College and the Wintergreen Art Center.
    Activities will be held Saturday, Oct. 24 at the NMCC Gymnasium from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Wintergreen Arts Center renovation project for the program’s new facility in downtown Presque Isle.
    The Oktoberfest-themed festivities will feature face painting, story time, a puppet show, children’s karaoke by Pass-A-Hat Entertainment, and a bouncy house and movie matinee sponsored by Cary Medical Center. Weather permitting, the event will include outdoor horse-drawn carriage rides provided by Maple Meadow Farms. NMCC food service provider Aramark will be providing Kinderfest-themed food, as well.
    “Kinderfest is a celebration of the German culture and the activities reflect that with Oktoberfest colors and German-themed activities,” said Heidi Broad-Smith, NMCC early childhood education instructor who is coordinating the children’s activities that day. “Bird house painting, flag and chain paper crafts, felt gingerbread men, gingerbread houses and potato stamping will all be part of the celebration at NMCC.”
    For the Wintergreen Arts Center, the Kinderfest event comes at an ideal time as the organization is in the midst of its $100,000 fund-raising campaign to conduct necessary improvements and renovations to its new home at 149 State St. in Presque Isle. Wintergreen was given a 10-year lease from Tony and Glenn Burgess-Capp free of charge with the utilities included. The money will go toward electrical improvements, a new bathroom, floor and ceiling restoration, lighting, signage, furnishings and landscaping.
    “Kinderfest is a great chance for families to do some fun things together while supporting a good cause,” said Lara Cannon, executive director of the Wintergreen Arts Center. “This is the last children’s event we have happening until we open Jan. 4, so we really hope that families will come and support us.”
    Kinderfest is being sponsored by Northern Maine Community College and co-sponsored by the NMCC Student Senate and Cary Medical Center. The event cost is $10 for 12 tickets, or $1 for each ticket, for the children to use to participate in each of the activities.
    “We are so excited to be able to partner with the Wintergreen Arts Center for this event,” said Shannon Smart, NMCC business administration student and organizer of the event. “The Center provides many wonderful choices and activities for the children in our communities. By hosting the event, we are able to assist in the renovation project at Wintergreen’s new studio in downtown Presque Isle, which many of our students will visit with their children. This will be a great event to bring your children and interact, while supporting a great cause.”
    Wintergreen Arts Center will also be hosting an Oktoberfest celebration on the evening of Oct. 24 at the Shriners Club in Presque Isle for adults age 21 and older. The event will include a live band and lots of food. For more information on the Kinderfest event, see the wintergreenarts.org Web site or contact the NMCC college relations office at 768-2809.