For its anniversary, the Rotary Club is
set for South Portland’s inaugural Winter Festival, if Mother Nature complies.
SOUTH PORTLAND — Last summer, when the South Portland-Cape
Elizabeth Rotary Club decided to celebrate its 50th birthday by
sponsoring the city’s first-ever Winter Festival, it seemed like a brilliant
idea. That’s because, last summer, everyone presumed we would have a winter.
Now, with Friday’s opening of the festival fast
approaching, and winter events getting canceled across the region, Rotarians
are keeping their fingers crossed.
“The city is going to let us know today if we
can use Mill Creek Pond,” said 30-year Rotary member Tony Wagner, on Tuesday.
If the ice is too thin, a call that was coming after The Current’s deadline,
the event would be postponed to Feb. 17-18.
Thanks to his engineering background in the Navy
and New York Maritime, Wagner got drafted as the club’s snow shaman, manning
the snowmaking machine purchased with $2,600 donations from Hannaford and Saco
and Biddeford Savings.
“It’s been extremely frustrating,” admits
Wagner. The machine, obtained from Conn.-based Snow At Home, arrived with parts
problems. Then, there were power issues. Once everything was up and running, it
was a constant guessing game with Mother Nature, trying to set up operations
when it was cold and dry enough to make snow, but not so cold that the
machine’s parts froze up.
“It wasn’t always fun standing in the park at 6
a.m. waiting to see if we’ll be able to make snow,” says Wagner, “but the part
that counts is when you see the smile on the kids’ faces. That makes it all
worthwhile.”
Kids and family are what it’s all about for the
Rotary Club. Each year, the club raises in the neighborhood $35,000 from its
annual Christmas tree sale in Mill Creek Park and other fundraising events. The
bulk of that money goes to scholarships, literacy programs, community youth
projects and children’s homes, in addition to hunger prevention programs.
But for its 50th anniversary (the
club was founded Jan. 23, 1962) the members wanted to go above and beyond,
doing something for each town that would not eat into its usual giving. After
approaching each town, the request from municipal officials was something in
each park – sponsorship of an interactive children’s garden at Fort Williams
Park in Cape Elizabeth, and a warming shelter for winter skating at South
Portland’s Mill Creek Park.
The garden will come later this year. For the
shelter, the Rotarians reached out to Southern Maine Community College,
sponsoring a $1,000 design contest, and then calling on students to build the
hut’s wooden frame around a custom trailer.
“Our club tends to want to be builders. We like
to do things that are permanent,” said Dan Mooers, of South Portland, who took
on the role of festival chairman.
Past Rotary projects have included shelters at
Fort Williams Park, area little league dugouts, providing seed money for the
founding of the South Portland Boys Club Girls Club, restoration of the Bug
Light and even painting Portland Head Light three times – all physical manifestations
the clubs dedication to its community.
The trailer will have much the same impact.
Where the old, “pretty ratty” warming hut had to be winched onto a public works
trailer for removal each year, the new custom-built version will have a rolling
undercarriage that crews can simply hook up and haul away, while the hut itself
will crank down to ground level during use.
The question, however, was how to foot the
$15,000 bill.
That’s when Dr. John Eliasson, a Cape dentist
and club member, had a vision. The idea was to sponsor a snowman-making contest
in Mill Creek Park. From that moment, Mooers says, the festival was born, and
it soon took on a life of its own.
The snowman contest will still cost a $15
registration fee, but as more and more events were added, Rotarians were able
to add each one free of charge, thanks to local sponsorships.
“I think people liked the idea of a
community-based family event,” Mooers said. “Rarely do we have an event in
South Portland that brings everybody together. Since we started this project,
people have been fairly clamoring to get involved. “
“We are passionate about
supporting the communities in which our employees work and live,” said Wright
Express Assistant Controller Frank Douglass. “We’ve specifically sought out
opportunities to support the greater South Portland area, and when we became
aware of the Winter Festival, it hit all the right notes. In these tough
economic times it’s really important for people to be able to enjoy a light,
fun day with family and friends – and Wright Express is delighted to be able to
sponsor this event.”
South Portland City Manager Jim Gailey agrees
that the Winter Festival has grown far beyond its origins, in meaning, as well
as in scope.
“With the
exception of Art in the Park each August, South Portland has been without a
community-wide activities festival since the Spring Point Festival disbanded
over ten years ago,” he said. “A festival, like the one proposed, not only
offers events for the residents to enjoy, but the festival also strengthens the
sense of community of South Portland.”
“This really has migrated from a Rotary 50th
celebration to a city-wide event,” said Wagner, Tuesday, as he waited on an
official word of go, or no-go, putting the odds at “abut 50/50.”
Everything is in place and ready to go, from the
demonstration skaters and all-star hockey players, the frozen turkeys for
makeshift curling competitions and rented sleds for “human sled dog” races.
Wagner even has enough fresh, clean snow piled up for snowmen.
Businesses, schools, city officials, parents,
kids and Rotary club members – everyone’s ready and waiting to see if Mother
Nature, too, will support South Portland’s first Winter Festival.
But even if the event gets postponed to a
make-up date, Mooers says the effort was worth it.
“As Rotary members, we make our living in these
communities and, so, we want ot give back,” he said. “But we have a belief in
Rotary that if you’ve given it your all, and done the very best you can,
there’s no such thing as failure.”
A CLOSER LOOK
Schedule of events for the first South Portland Winter Festival:
Friday, Feb. 3
(weather date: Feb. 17)
5 p.m. – Opening ceremony, “Lighting of Candles for Peace,” at corner of Broadway and Ocean Street.
6 p.m. – Exhibition, “A Victorian Picture Postcard on Mill Creek Pond,” by Portland Ice Arena Skating Club.
Saturday, Feb. 4
(weather date: Feb. 18)
All events in Mill Creek Park except as noted.
9 a.m. – Snowman building contest begins*.
“WinterKids” family snowshoe races in Thomas Knight Park*.
10 a.m. – Horse-drawn shuttle begins between Mill Creek and Thomas Knight parks.
Pre-school games at the warming shelter.
Chuck-a-puck (1st opportunity)*.
Curling competition (using frozen turkeys for stones)*.
Shoot-the-puck on a goalie.
11 a.m. – Pony rides begin.
Food vendor booths open.
1 p.m. – Human dogsled races in Thomas Knight Park*.
2 p.m. – Chuck-a-puck (2nd opportunity)*.
City/Rotary All-Stars vs. Maine Marines/Portland Pirates pond hockey exhibition.
Chuck-a-puck (3rd opportunity)*.
6 p.m. – “BuyLocal” family skating party.
* prizes awarded at Mill Creek Park gazebo.
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