MADAWASKA, Maine — Madawaska town officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for a more than $200,000 project that will renovate the town’s Bicentennial Park.
The revamped space will include a new Acadian Pavilion, which will replace a gazebo that was torn down, along with amphitheater seating, a skate park and electricity hookups for musicians and food trucks.
The town plans to pay for the project via fundraising instead of tax dollars. Town Manager David Daigle said the current fundraising goal is $250,000, which will cover the pavilion and seating amenities.
“The Board of Selectmen and Bicentennial Park Committee felt that it was important to make the initial part of the park development a community initiative,” Daigle said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “So no grant funding, simply residents and businesses that have dealings in the town of Madawaska to see what we could raise for the initial part of the development.”
Madawaska will also hold both a radiothon and a telethon fundraising event on Oct. 30. The radiothon will go from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Channel X Radio. The telethon, slated from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Madawaska High School cafeteria, will feature live music and is open to the public.
Local students will create about half a dozen pre-recorded vignettes that will play during commercial breaks, one of which will feature the groundbreaking ceremony. The fundraising effort will also feature numerous sponsorship tiers, which include rewards ranging from mentioning the name of a donor’s business during the telethon to a speaking opportunity at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The town held a public meeting about the project earlier this year, in which residents showed optimism for the project. Carol Botelho, a Brazil-based architect who spent time in Madawaska as an exchange student, offered the services of her design firm, Trae Studio Architecture & Design, free of charge.
Botelho spoke to officials during the January meeting via Zoom, and said that her journey as an architect truly began while staying with the family of Jane Carter, a member of the town’s Bicentennial Park Committee. It was Carter’s idea to reach out to Botelho, and Botelho agreed to provide her services free. She said during the January meeting that her experience in Madawaska made her the person she is today.
During the ceremony, Carter was among those who wielded gold-colored shovels to turn over the first earth for the project. Also breaking ground were Daigle and Jenney Dionne, who is both on the board of selectmen and on the park committee.
Dionne said that previous town leadership helped initiate the early planning for this project, and now the town is continuing to carry that momentum forward.
“What we’re building here is more than just a park,” Dionne said. “It’s a place for families to gather, children to play, and our town to celebrate milestones, traditions and everyday moments.”
Renee Deschaine, vice chair of the Madawaska Board of Selectmen, said that the popularity of events and music at the park is testament to its ability to bring people in the community together.
“The Bicentennial Park is a true reflection of Madawaska’s enduring love,” Deschaine said. “Like its residents, this park has seen decades of change, but its true purpose has never wavered. It tells the story of a community that never stops investing in itself through determination, resilience and a shared vision.”
