Three weeks ago, the Town of Mapleton was the place to be in Aroostook County. Starting on Monday June 22, the new Maple-Den had its grand opening with the assistance of the Mapleton Daze Committee and the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce. Owners the Darrells appreciated the support.
Then a big pool party was held at the Mapleton pool, where kids and some parents had fun in and out of the water.
Tuesday night forced the drive-in dinner and movie inside to the school cafeteria. More than 100 kids and parents attended. Many kids made cardboard cars to sit in to watch the movie. The fundraiser for the Mapleton PTO brought in over $800 to help fund their student enrichment activities.
Wednesday was night to burn off some energy with the “Bounce-A-Palooza” which featured lots of bounce houses and slides. Food vendors were available along with live music from “Train Wreck.”
The Mapleton Daze Committee hosted game night June 25. There was a large crowd for the free Bingo games. In the Resource Center at the Mapleton School, the annual cribbage tournament was held. This year’s tournament was named the Russell Hoffses Memorial Cribbage Tournament. Additionally they accepted can good donations for the support of the Community Cupboard.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Friday night was filled with food, activities and music. The Lions Club prepared and sold more than 200 barbecue chicken dinners and many red hot dog dinners. Funds raised will support youth programs, low-income eyeglasses and other community needs.
The Mapleton Methodist Women sold out of homemade pies, having convinced buyers that an excellent chicken dinner deserved a tasty piece of pie.
At the school, The County Folk and The Echo entertained the crowd until Star City Syndicate started playing at 7 p.m.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
The Mapleton United Baptist Church conducted their cornhole tournament which required competitors to be deadly accurate to the hole as the mist kept the bean bags from sliding on the boards.
The evening ended with a fireworks display.
The Big Mapleton Daze Celebration started on Saturday morning with breakfast on the top of Haystack Mountain, but without the view this year as the top of mountain was in the low cloud ceiling. Coming down from up top, free breakfast sandwiches were available courtesy of the churches of Mapleton and Chapman.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Right before the Mapleton Daze Parade, awards were presented to the kids with winning decorated bikes. The 4 and under winner was Wesley Garrish, 5-6-year-old winner was Jack Bartol, 7-9 year-old winner was Scarlett Provencher, 10-12 year-old winner was Jacob Benjamin and the 13-14 year-old winner was Carter Boulware. Recognized for a non-bike entry were Debbie and Larry Sawyer.
Jacob Benjamin received a second trophy for traveling the longest distance to be in the parade. He came all the way from Vermont and has been in the parade the last three years. The Mapleton Daze Parade followed with nearly 80 entries in the parade. Other events included bounce houses, car show and bike giveaways.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
The Haystack Historical Society held their annual homemade pie and ice cream sale to help support the museum.
A muster was hosted by the Mapleton Volunteer Fire Department. Among the firefighters present, they recognized Mapleton firefighter, Jessica Guptill, who helped stand by with Engine 2 Friday night during the fireworks show to help keep the event safe.
Saturday ended with a large street dance down beside the Mapleton Lions Hall. A food truck was available and live music was played by “Trainwreck” and “Highway 207”.
The week ended with a morning ATV trail ride with a provided lunch on the trail. The last event of Mapleton Daze was a concert at the Mapleton United Baptist Church. The concert featured the new “County Gospel Choir and Friends. Performing members for the evening represented seven different churches from across Central Aroostook County. The audience packed the church with only a couple seats available. The performance was so enjoyable that many concert goers wished they would have sung a few more songs.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Mapleton Daze 2027 is already being planned and will return the last week of June in 2027.
Fair is coming
The Mapleton Lions Club’s next fundraiser will be the opening of the Mapleton Lions Den at the Northern Maine Fair.
The Den will serve everyone’s favorite sandwiches, french fries and doughboys. The fair’s gates will open at 4:00 pm and the Lions Club will serve food from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Aug. 5 through 7; from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, and from 12 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9.
Again this year there will be two serving lines: one for regular food items and a second for doughboys only. The two-line setup speeds up purchases of food as everyone will not have to wait in a single line for both meals and doughboys, as in the past.
Terry Sandusky is the Star-Herald correspondent for Mapleton, Chapman and Castle Hill and can be reached at 764-4916 or at starherald.Tsandusky@gmail.com.
