CARIBOU, Maine – Whether they were looking for crafty gifts or trying to win prizes, Caribou’s mid-October events had something for everyone.
This year, 138 vendors gathered at Caribou High School for Aroostook County’s largest and oldest arts and craft fair. Vendors came from as far north as Fort Kent and as far south as Greenville to showcase and sell their works to Aroostook craft enthusiasts.
“People have been coming for years because we’re strictly about crafts people make themselves, no pre-made items,” said Gary Marquis, Caribou Parks & Recreation superintendent. “It’s truly an artisan’s craft fair.”
Throughout the weekend, thousands of visitors checked out booths selling items like hand sewn clothes, homemade fudge and maple syrup, photographs, paintings and holiday lawn decorations. Many artisans showed off creations that went beyond traditional crafts, including dog collars and accessories, wooden laser crafts, license plates and tumblers.
Laura and Randy McPherson of Washburn, the founders of Crafty Gram Studio, combine their artistic talents to create wood lasered and painted scenes of Maine life, often featuring animals like moose, deer, bears, loons and chickens. Sometimes Randy cuts the wood into the shapes of the animals.
“Randy likes woodworking and I’ve always painted, so our work evolved from there,” Laura McPherson said. “He cuts everything out onto the wood with lasers and puts them in layers and I paint.”
The McPhersons put their images onto wood canvases, Christmas ornaments, earrings, suncatchers, solar-lit mason jars and cribbage boards. Laura enjoys incorporating a favorite painting, like Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” into Maine nighttime scenes. She is working on “Starry Night”-inspired pieces of Caribou and Presque Isle’s 1950s-era downtowns.
Laura McPherson, a Caribou native, said she was thrilled to be part of the city’s arts and craft fair a second year. She and Randy have become regulars at local farmer’s markets and craft fairs.
“We want to offer something different than everyone else,” Laura McPherson said.
Mother and daughter Patsy and Martha DeLong of Presque Isle were at the craft fair selling their hand sewn mittens and customized light boxes, coffee mugs, ceramic coasters and decorative signs.
Martha DeLong started crocheting and making jewelry 10 years ago after seeing her mother and sister, Elizabeth DeLong of Presque Isle, creating their unique crafts.
Martha’s products were becoming popular with folks during the craft fair, including coffee mugs with phrases like “Sometimes I like coffee more than people” and “A yawn is a silent scream for coffee.” Her ceramic coasters featured Maine and animal-themed images.
“It’s been busy,” Martha DeLong said. “Everyone has different tastes depending on what they’re looking for. It’s fun just to meet different people.”
Marrisa Levesque and Nevaeh Jordan of Presque Isle stayed busy Saturday afternoon going to the various craft fair booths.
“This is the first time for me. There’s such a wide variety,” Levesque said.
Folks also dropped by Caribou Wellness & Recreation Center for the second annual Fall Spectacular. Much like a Festival of Trees, the Spectacular featured lines of prizes that people had a chance to win by purchasing and putting tickets in buckets.
Twenty-three businesses and organizations contributed prizes this year, said Bernie Lagasse, board member for the Center for the Advancement of Rural Living, which hosts the Fall Spectacular.
On Saturday, Lagasse was hopeful that the strong attendance could help CARL surpass the $11,000 raised at last year’s Fall Spectacular. All proceeds go toward CARL’s programs, including local recovery houses and shows at Caribou Performing Arts Center.
“I’d say our attendance is doubled compared to last year,” Lagasse said. “We definitely see this as an annual event that will go hand in hand with the craft fair.”
Shelley Gagnon of Caribou and her niece Kenna St. Pierre of Limestone enjoyed putting tickets in for the prizes, including one for a set of board games and a play table from Kenna’s daycare provider, Theresa Dube. Gagnon and St. Pierre went to the Fall Spectacular after visiting the craft fair.
“We like seeing all the prizes on display and like that it’s for a good cause,” Gagnon said about the Fall Spectacular.
