BANGOR — Saturday, April 11 will be a big day for the Bangor Waterfront and Main St. entertainment corridor in Bangor as three big events take place.
The first to kick off will be the 20th annual Hike for the Homeless. The event will attract more than 1,000 hikers who will participate in a show of advocacy for people experiencing homelessness in Bangor region. The event is also a fundraiser for the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter. This year’s goal is $32,000.
According to Dennis Marble, executive director of the shelter, hikers and support come from all over. “We’re really pumped this year. With this being the 20th annual hike held on the same day as the Gala and with Spruce Run/Womancare Alliance and Shaw House joining in, there will be a lot of energy around this important community issue.”
Next up will be the much-anticipated Bangor Garden Show put on by the Bangor Daily News. The annual event jump starts spring and gets everyone thinking about warmer weather, planting, and all things green and garden related. According to Deandra Briggs, director of marketing for the BDN, “I think everyone in Maine is more than ready to ‘think spring’ and the Garden Show is just what we need. We will have everything from flower vendors to fence installers and some beautiful landscapes to see. We hope everyone is able to come and enjoy.”
And finally, the day of events will be capped by the second annual Cross Insurance Center Gala. The Gala is an opportunity to celebrate community, its successes and the continuing economic development work of the region.
This year, the Gala will offer an evening of dinner and dancing, and will be the single largest evening of giving back to the community the region has ever experienced.
“After last year’s Gala, we were approached about making it an annual event, one in which we could continue to celebrate the greater Bangor region, not only as a great place to live and work with enormous vitality for economic development, but also as an area with a big heart and soul,” said Miles Theeman, co-chairman of the Friends of the Cross Insurance Center and one of the Gala organizers, “Rallying around our nonprofit service agencies each year seemed like a terrific approach.”
The Gala will honor Bangor Region Homeless Shelter, Spruce Run/Womancare Alliance and the Shaw House. With support from regional businesses and individuals, the Friends of the Cross Insurance Center will honor the three nonprofits by sharing their stories of community caring and with cash donations made possible by sponsors of the event.
For tickets and to learn more about the day’s events visit crosscentergala.com,
bangorgardenshow.com and hikingforthehomeless.org.