Families flocked to Adams Street Saturday to enjoy a trip or two down the giant sledding hill, play miniature golf, get their picture taken with a dancing Minion mascot, go for a pony ride or enjoy a free lunch. At Lincoln Street, there were dog sled rides, and later fat bike rides.
“It’s a good day. The sun is shining. The kids seem to be having a good time,” said Biddeford Recreation Director Carl Walsh.
The festival was made possible through a number of partnerships with the city. One notable partner was New Life Church, which brought a team of friendly volunteers serving up free hot chocolate and coffee, hotdogs, soft drinks and snacks and handing out free socks, gloves and hats.
Church volunteers had also helped build the snow hill, and were scheduled to help take it down on Sunday.
“They’re incredible,” said Mayor Alan Casavant. “They really know how to give back to the community.”
New Life Church Pastor Justin Sweeney said the church has built a great relationship with the city. He said church members love to help out the community and enjoy seeing all the happy faces at the festival.
“Anything we can do to bring happiness to children and families,” said Sweeney.
Mindy Mailman whizzed down the hill on a sled accompanied by her two daughters, Dava and June.
“That was awesome,” she said as she and the girls walked off the snow hill.
Mailman said she had recently moved back to Biddeford after living in Massachusetts, and this was her first time at Winterfest.
“This is a great little free event,” she said.
Seven-year-old Ariel Cote of Biddeford, rode a pony for the first side, while her father, J.P., stood nearby and took pictures.
“That was so fun,” she said.
There was a pause in the festivities for a few moments to honor one of the festival’s founders, John Maxson, who died a few months ago of pancreatic cancer.
Mayor Casavant addressed the crowd from outside of city hall. He said many years ago he had gone to Fort Kent to watch the annual Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Races and was impressed by the way the event brought the community together. He thought a winter event in Biddeford would be a good idea and he reached out to several community members, including Maxson.
Casavant said Maxson was “all on board” and became an integral part of the festival, and the person who organized everything down to the smallest detail.
Passed away pancreatic cancer, huge loss, but what’s happening here is part of john’s legacy.
“He loved doing this because he liked to watch the laughter and the smiles of all the kids, like you see today, and every time I walk up and down here and I see some kid laughing, I think of John,” he said.
Casavant said recognizing Maxson’s work showed how valuable volunteerism is to the community, and he urged the public to consider volunteering and giving some of their time to help their community.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected]
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