HOULTON, Maine — The snow may have been lightly falling outside Saturday morning, but that did not deter folks from coming out to see the latest recreational vehicles, lawn mowers and gardening supplies.
Adam Fournier checks out one of the many tractors on display at the Southern Aroostook Trade Show Saturday at the Millar Civic Center. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
The 2019 Southern Aroostook Trade Show, came to the Millar Civic Center Saturday and Sunday, providing a glimpse of potential spring projects and much more.
Jane Torres, executive director for the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, said the trade show is always one of the key kick offs to the spring season.
The Houlton show typically attracts between 1,500 and 2,000 attendees over the two-day period, depending on the weather. Preparations for the event starts a long time before the actual trade show opens to the public and requires lots of man hours and a dedicated group of professionals invested in making their booths interesting to the viewers.
“We have 45 vendors, and a few really big ones that take up a lot of space,” Torres said. “We switched our event to early in April because when we held this (trade show) at the end of April, we ran the risk of people wanting to be outside on 70 degree days.”
Tim Messier of Sherman was one of the many vendors at this year’s exhibition. The owner of Messier’s Studios, Messier was busy Saturday afternoon putting the finishing touches on a decorative drawing on a moose antler.
“I’m an illustrator,” Messier said. “I worked for Fish and Wildlife for Massachusetts for a number of years as a publications illustrator. My work is all based on the North Maine Woods.”
Messier has been a vendor at the trade show for a number of years.
“We try to do local stuff as much as we can,” he said. “I do about 25 shows a year. In the summer and fall I spend a lot of time with exhibits on Mount Desert Island and Camden because of the volume.”
The trade show is the first of many events planned by the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce for 2019.
-
- Tammie Mulvey of Pleasant View Tree Farms in Hodgdon speaks to potential customers at the Southern Aroostook Trade Show Saturday at the Millar Civic Center in Houlton. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
-
- Raymond Jay of Ray’s Tree Service speaks to Paul and Susan Adams at one of the many booths at the Southern Aroostook Trade Show Saturday at the Millar Civic Center in Houlton. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
-
- Dickie Mitchell tosses a bean bag at one of the games offered at the Southern Aroostook Trade Show Saturday in Houlton. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
-
- Kevin Carpenter, right, of Carp’s Guitars, shows off one of his custom-made guitars at the Southern Aroostook Trade Show. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
-
- Kora Lambert, left, and her mother Rebecca Caron sell raffle tickets for the Hodgdon Project Graduation at the Southern Aroostook Trade Show Saturday in Houlton. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
