WALLAGRASS, Maine — Summer is just weeks away and “Pondfest,” an annual event in Wallagrass, is set for June 28. This year the event will raise money to finish work on a new pavilion in Wallagrass.
The event is organized by the Wallagrass/Soldier Pond Revitalization Committee. Elaine Desjardins, chairperson of the committee, said the event started 11 years ago when the Acadian World Congress was held in Madawaska and along the Canada-United States border.
The Saturday festival is set to feature a barbecue from noon to 5:30 pm, frog and duck races in which participants are encouraged to “BYOF” — or “bring your own frog.” And a parade that will begin at 6:30 pm.
Throughout the entire day, the festival will also include music, vendors, door prizes and 50/50 raffles.
Desjardins said this will raise money to help the town purchase a new pavilion. In the past, she said community fundraisers in Wallagrass have contributed to the local food pantry and scholarships. Some of the committee’s larger projects include a boat landing and a veterans memorial.
In a letter to sponsors, Desjardins wrote that contractors estimated that the pavilion will cost $40,000, but that some residents and businesses have offered to contribute labor and materials.
The pavilion, Desjardins wrote, will give parents a place to sit and have shelter from the sun, wind or rain while their children play.
Desjardins said the committee also raises money with events like a Mother’s Day brunch, meals on Veterans Day and a hunter’s breakfast. The committee also puts up flags along the street every year.
“We have a big all-day event,” Desjardins said of Pondfest. “We have Shriner clowns; we have a pretty good parade, and we have fireworks.”
