PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Janice Mooers acknowledged Saturday afternoon that she hadn’t really wanted to go to the Presque Isle Kiwanis Home and Recreation Show.
“I’d never been before, and I thought there would be nothing here I would like,” the Caribou resident said Saturday.
She was wrong.
Just 15 minutes after she and a friend walked into the show at The Forum, Mooers had purchased some new kitchen supplies, dug into a cup of chili and started to think about redecorating her living room.
“I really had no idea that they had this many vendors here,” Mooers said. “There are some businesses and organizations with booths here that I didn’t even know existed. It’s really nice to see this type of variety.”
More than 40 vendors from throughout Aroostook County took part in the 27th annual show, which began Saturday and wrapped up Sunday. A mix of businesses and organizations had booths at the show, including landscapers, home improvement businesses and furniture dealers. The show also featured a wealth of campers, all-terrain vehicles and tractors.
The Presque Isle Fire Department brought their Family Fire Safety House, a 35-foot-long trailer that simulates the interior of a home. It quickly fills with fake smoke to show participants what can happen when a fire breaks out. Firefighters from the department used it during the show to teach people how to escape from a burn-ing dwelling.
The Presque Isle Police Department also had a booth, and Sgt. Mark Barnes spent Saturday afternoon distributing information to adults about drug and alcohol abuse prevention and offering safety tips, pencils, balloons and other items to children.
An afternoon talent show drew onlookers who watched participants tap and clog dance, sing and play musical instruments.
Pam Willette, a Presque Isle resident, and her business partner, Morgan January of Caribou, were manning the booth at their Presque Isle business, Scentsy Wickless Candles. Their booth was decorated with a wide selection of resplendent wickless candles and other goods.
“Business hasn’t been too bad today,” Willette said Saturday. “This is the first time that we have done this, and business has been pretty steady.”
Just a short distance away, Matt Stewart of Presque Isle was eyeing a brand-new ATV that was part of the Houlton Power Sports exhibit. He said he already owns an ATV that he purchased in 2008, but he was hoping to convince his wife that a new one was necessary. Even he acknowledged that his odds of convincing her were “slim.”
“I’ll be lucky if I get out of this place with a balloon,” he said Saturday afternoon.