A letter to the Bridgton News editor:
As we pack up the final stuffed animals, disassemble the rides and tents, count the final coins, and reflect on the 85th annual Casco Days, all we can say is ‘WOW!’, we are so lucky to live in this beautiful town with such tremendous people and support! An entire community came together, pulling off a record-breaking 3-day festival, all to benefit the Casco Fire Association and the community organizations it supports.
Since 1935, Casco Village has come alive with family fun, traditions, prizes, rides, and more! This spectacular event brings our surrounding communities together and creates lasting traditions and memories for families and friends. Thousands of visitors from near and far gathered to enjoy the 2019 celebration with fireworks, midway games and rides, parades, a 4-mile road race, a live concert by Rick Charette and The Bubble Gum Band, an incredible food booth, and more.
The Casco Fire Association would like to thank all the hundreds of volunteers who helped make this year’s event a reflection of a community at work and play together – it truly is a one-of-a-kind family event. People from local businesses, churches, community service organizations, athletic teams, schools, camps, as well as whole families, get involved to help pull it all together. Lake Region High School athletic teams combined to volunteer over 135-hours to help set up and take down the event! It takes a huge number of volunteer hours and hard work to make Casco Days happen, and it all goes toward raising dollars that flow back into the local community.
Casco Village was blessed with incredible weather this year—not a drop of rain fell on the midway! The food booth served up a record number of hamburgers, French fries, onion rings, sausages, fried dough, fresh squeezed lemonades, cotton candy, and more. Continuing with tradition, the Thursday night fireworks show impressed the crowd, with ‘ooohs and ahhhhs’ heard around the village. Once again, Friday night’s Children’s Parade oozed of cuteness and cleverness, while hundreds of spectators lined the streets on Saturday afternoon for the Grand Parade. Over 500 runners, including hundreds of area campers, crossed the finish line on Saturday morning’s 41st annual four- miler road race! And, in an encore performance, Rick Charette and the Bubble Gum Band, put on a great show as children danced and sang their favorite tunes.
Once again, our sincere thanks to all the wonderful folks who came to the 85th Annual Casco Days celebration, especially our business sponsors who are an integral part of the event’s success! To the hundreds of people who make Casco Days the reason to get together and celebrate family, community, and pure summer fun every year—THANK YOU! Without your support we would not be able to help local charities and groups. Thanks again for making the best year yet! See you in 2020—Always the Last Saturday in July –July 23rd, July 24th and July 25th.
Until next year,
Holly Hancock, Kevin Hancock + Tom Mulkern
2019 Casco Days Chairpersons