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Although umbrellas lined Main Street in Old Town, marking at least a thousand spectators, the 16th annual Old Town Riverfest was a success.
“Obviously the weather was not good,” said Carol May, a coordinator on the Riverfest Committee. “But we still had a good turnout and a great numbers [of spectators] for both Friday’s fireworks and all the events on Saturday.”
May said only two or three companies backed out of setting up their tents, but with the majority of support coming through the community, Riverfest was never in any doubt because of a couple showers.
“People come out for these things,” May said. “Unfortunately, they didn’t linger and stay around as long as they may have, but this is a community event.”
After Friday night’s fireworks, the Riverfront Park transformed into a village of tents featuring food and arts and crafts. At around 10 a.m. Saturday morning, the parade switched everyone’s attention from Riverfront Park to Main Street, where pop duo Karmin, — featuring Old Town’s own Nick Noonan — the state champion Old Town High School softball team and the University of Maine marching band all strolled down Riverfront Park.
“The UMaine band is always anticipated,” May said. “They often do a performance after the parade, but they had to leave because of the [UMaine] football game.”
Noonan and Amy Heidmann, his fiancé and musical partner waved to fans from an antique red convertible.
“It’s always important to come home,” Noonan told the Bangor Daily News. “And plus I hadn’t been home in a while, so it was an excuse to come home and hang out.”
Hundreds of fans waited to greet the stars, who posed for photos and signed autographs for the kids who withstood the rain. The duo returned to Old Town, the location of their first performance together at Riverfest 2010.
In addition to the UMaine marching band, the Woodsman team also paraded at Riverfest and members of the UMaine men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams helped as volunteers for the event.
“They were a big help,” May said.
