BANGOR, Maine — More than 500 people came in from the cold to listen to bands, watch models prowl the catwalk, take a look at the work of area visual artists and maybe buy some cool stuff from local businesses at Saturday evening’s Bangor Meltdown, held at the Bangor Civic Center.
Event organizer Myke Billings ran around the facility all day, wrangling models, making sure bands got onstage on time and ensuring all the vendors were happy — and he had come down with a nasty cold the day before. Despite his less-than-ideal respiratory situation, he managed to sing with his band, Big Time.
“I pretty much had to scream through the whole set so my voice wouldn’t break,” said Billings. “I was running on adrenaline. I’m so happy with the way it turned out. It speaks a lot to how much Bangor has grown over the years.”
Dan Brown, owner of Freek Spealy, a Bangor-based sound recording and screen printing business, provided both the sound for the event and the custom-designed T-shirts, featuring colorful art from area artist Isaac Wright. Both the scope of the event and the sense of how close-knit the Bangor community is impressed him.
“It showed how big and how small Bangor is,” Brown said. “It was really great to see how many people came out and were interested in what’s out there in the arts and in creative businesses, but it was also cool to see how so many people knew each other and met up with friends.”
There was much to see and do at the event, which ran from 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday — from a quirky selection of stones and fossils courtesy of the Rock and Art Shop in Ellsworth to quickie hair and makeup jobs and five-minute chair massages from Balance Spa in Brewer. Allison Melton’s installation “A Thousand Paper Air-planes” spun from a ceiling fan in the lobby of the Civic Center, while VJ Pat Shaw projected his video art on the back wall behind the stage. Bands as varied as the R&B-influenced rockers People and Things and hip-hop crew Green Tank provided the soundtrack.
Almost all of the models were from the area. They sported designs from Mallory Bruns’ Sophronia Designs collection, Jessie Sader of Orono, Caitlyn Cogan of Bangor and downtown Bangor boutique Bella Luna.
Kim Wentworth of Orrington heard about Meltdown on MySpace and thought she’d take the drive into town to see what the scene had to offer.
“You wouldn’t know that there even were fashion designers here in Bangor,” said Wentworth. “It’s great to see all this stuff under one roof, so I can check everything out individually later. You get a sense of just what the area has to offer, as far as culture goes.”
Karen Clark of Bangor is a student at Empire Beauty School, and, along with some of her friends and fellow students at Empire, she did styling for some of the models who strutted along the catwalk at the show.
“I thought the show was very diverse and offered something for everyone,” said Clark. “I think people in Bangor and the surrounding areas would love to see more events like this. It was really fun to do makeup for a fashion show.”
Billings has another show planned for May 23 at the Civic Center, which he plans to be bigger and open to all ages, instead of just 18 and over. He also has a Valentine’s Day party set for the Bangor Opera House on Feb. 14. He has high hopes for both events — living proof that “if you build it, they will come.”
“People don’t always know what’s out there,” said Billings. “If they see stuff like this, they know that Bangor is a lot more cool and happening than it used to be. And the more there is of that, the more people will be encouraged to make their own art or music or fashion.”
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