COLORBangor: Mission Accomplished

Color Bangor 2014 was almost like the first year of the Festival all over again.  The frenzied days before the event, the all-too-frequent outbursts of, “Hey! We almost forgot…” (first aid? A changing tent?), and checking the weather forecast every 23 minutes to see if the rain would fall on our day.

Photo Credit: Bill Knight Photography

The rain didn’t fall.  The runners, walkers, wheelers and strollers showed up.  Sunshine (the sunny personality, not the sunny weather phenomenon) warmed up the crowd with a heart-pounding Zumba routine.  The starting gun was fired, and Color Bangor was officially begun!  What a crowd we had: young and old, the super-athletic and the recreational walkers.  They showed up ready to go and dressed for a party.  Lots of colorful tights, tutus and headwear – and I’m not just talking about the women.

Photo Credit: Whittling Fog Photography
Photo Credit: Whittling Fog Photography
Photo Credit: Whittling Fog Photography

To see in person the type of event that we’d only witnessed in YouTube videos was pretty incredible.  There’s just something about having piles and piles of colored powder to play with that turns everyone into a kid for at least a little while.  I’ll confess that I didn’t expect to see grown adults rolling around on the ground to get further “colored.”  And the Celebrity Color Pelt activities turned into a much bigger mess that I ever imagined!  (But all in good fun.)

Thanks to our genial emcees – Lindsey and Clay from WVII.

Lindsey and Clay, photo credit Chris Popper at www.WDEA.amPhoto Credit: Chris Popper at www.WDEA.am

Thank you, Bangor Police Department, for being willing and able to have fun with us.  And thanks to nearly 1,700 participants who came out to have a fun, colorful morning.   But most especially, thanks to the Color Bangor committee and the American Folk Festival Board of Directors and staff for taking this event from conception to exciting, vibrant fulfillment!

When the idea of Color Bangor came up, we wanted to accomplish two things: to raise some much-needed funds to support the American Folk Festival, and to create an opportunity for a fun, family friendly event that brought together the wonderful community we live in with lots of energy, just like the American Folk Festival.  Missions Accomplished.    Now it’s full-speed-ahead with plans for the AFF.  Please make sure to join us there; the fun is just beginning!

    
 Video Credit: Chris Popper at www.WDEA.am