HOULTON, Maine — The Anah Temple Shriners will descend on the increased Houlton place for the group’s once-a-year Summer time Ceremonial in June, but the 200 persons attending will continue to be in some unforeseen locations.
The June 16-18 event marks the initially time in a 10 years that the Summer months Ceremonial will be held in the Houlton region and just the sixth time considering that 1967 that it will be held in Aroostook County.
The Summer season Ceremonial is held each year in the hometown of the present potentate — the group’s leader. It contains cribbage and golf tournaments as effectively as an induction ceremony for any new nobles or inductees into the Shrine organization and, of program, a parade. Anah Temple Shrine is primarily based in Bangor and has associates from Waterville to the Crown of Maine.
Houlton has just 3 motels that have been booked steadily by contractors doing the job at Louisiana Pacific as section of a important plant renovation, and community campgrounds had no vacancies both.
Locating plenty of lodging for every person has established challenging, said Potentate Galen White of Houlton.
“It was a large challenge originally, because none of the community motels were prepared to dedicate a significant quantity of rooms for just a few days,” White explained. “We experienced a huge waiting list of people wanting for locations to keep, but final time I checked, that record is down to about a few people.”
To remedy the lodging scarcity, the Houlton Town Council granted Shriners authorization to area campers inside the Community Park. The group also requested the Houlton Honest Affiliation if it could use some of the property in that park for the reason that some a lot are equipped with drinking water and electrical energy, White explained.
“We were being also equipped to have some folks stay down at the Brookside Motel in Smyrna, and other folks identified accommodations in Mars Hill,” White explained. “We will also have a massive group being at a campground down in Medway [nearly 60 miles away]. They are scattered, but we will make it work.”
In accordance to the history of the Anah Shriners, the to start with headquarters was on the two upper floors at 28 Key St., Bangor. For the future 60 many years, the club was located at 39 Columbia St. in Bangor just before moving to 586 Primary St. for the subsequent 35 decades. As of September 2015, the group is centered out of 1404 Broadway in Bangor.
Anah Shriners of Bangor held its very first assembly on July 1, 1921, with James A. Dunning as the first potentate and George B. Freeland the 1st recorder, and acquired its constitution on June 15, 1922. Prior to the generation of Anah Shriners, Kora Shriners of Lewiston was the only temple in Maine.
At its peak, the group had more than 4,000 customers, but right now that quantity is closer to 2,800.
The Houlton party will be held at the Millar Civic Center in Houlton’s Local community Park. The Shriners had been granted permission for off-premises catering at the Civic Centre on June 17-18 for two nights of banquets.
Houlton past hosted a Summer months Ceremonial in 2012 when Tony Bowers served as potentate. Presque Isle hosted the event in 2014 and 2006, when Dick Hallett served as potentate. Caribou hosted the event in 1995 when Goodwin Gilman was the chief.
Provided in the festival is a substantial parade featuring up to 33 marching and go-kart models as well as clowns from Aroostook County and the Anah Temple in Bangor. Costumed superheroes are also aspect of the parade.
The June 18 parade at 2 p.m. will observe the exact route as Houlton’s Fourth of July parade starting and ending at the Catholic Church. White added he hopes the local community of Houlton and the surrounding space will turn out in massive quantities for the parade.
“There is absolutely nothing a Shriner dislikes additional than a parade with no person viewing,” he stated.