LISBON

Positive Change Lisbon held a ribbon “hopping” event Wednesday to recognize the plethora of business activity in town. During the event, Positive Change members guided a tour of businesses that were new, had relocated or had celebrated an anniversary.

Jen Hogan, owner of The Beauty Box, has been in business for about five years. She initially had her business along Route 196 until two years ago, when she bought a building on Main Street. The tour group on Wednesday got to see the building’s original brick walls, which Hogan discovered during renovation.

The tour hopped over to Gentleman’s Quarters Barber Shop on Union Street to see the newly renovated space. The owner, Mick McCauley, was working in Freeport when he started looking for his own location. He initially took over Faye’s Barber Shop on Route 196, then moved to Union Street where there is room to grow.

The group then squeezed into Eastcraeft at 14 Main St. and sang “Happy Birthday” to owner Maggie Oliver, who started the consignment store three years ago at age 21. She announced she is starting a plus-sized line this Sunday.

Along the ribbon hopping path was Michael Kolster’s new working photography studio in the former Downeast Energy building on Main Street.

“I’m very excited to have you see what it’s like inside because it’s a completely different, transformed space,” Kolster said Wednesday. “To be able to do this with you guys right now is an absolute dream of mine.”

Kolster had been working in Brunswick, but found it to be expensive. Meanwhile, he was already spending a lot of time in Lisbon Falls photographing the Androscoggin River.

He described his new Main Street location as “sort of a match made in Heaven.”

Haggerty Realty, in Lisbon since 2004, has moved to Main Street from its Route 196 location. Cheryl Haggerty said she’d always driven by the building on the corner of Main and Maple streets that once housed a veterinary practice. She finally made the time to look at the space and purchased it.

There has been a lot of activity in downtown Lisbon since the large white Worumbo Mill building was demolished last year, and Haggerty said she loves “being part of the revitalization.”

“With the mill coming down, it’s started the ball rolling and it just won’t stop at this point,” said Haggerty, who also sits on the board of Positive Change Lisbon.

“I think there’s been a change in the last four or five years in Lisbon that has shown this really is a vibrant community,” said Ross Cunningham of Positive Change Lisbon. That includes projects like a walking path and new gymnasium at the high school.

The town has also started to show it can service major industry sectors.

“Folks are coming here for good housing prices and they want to have these support businesses that foster that,” he said.

Lower housing prices draw people who then discover it’s a nice community where people gather and enjoy community events.

“It really is a happening kind of town,” said Cunningham.

Also part of the celebration was the new restaurant in the former Moxie store, Frank’s Pub, along with the embroidery shop Legendary Status; the Lisbon Spa and Wellness; Atlas family Chiropractic and Rogers Insurance.

dmoore@timesrecord.com