BIDDEFORD — Bacon Street was once reputed to be one of the worst streets in Biddeford. It was viewed as a high crime neighborhood and many said they felt unsafe on the street. Today, concerted efforts by the Community Development Department, residents of the area, the Biddeford Police Department and community groups have helped transformed the area and to celebrate this change, for the second year in a row, a festival on Bacon Street will be held on Sunday, from 2 to 8 p.m.
Everyone is invited to this free event, said Community Development organizer Linda Hardacker.
Last year, more than 400 people attended the Bacon Street festival, and she said she’s hoping even more will attend this year.
The festival, which is held in coordination with the city, several organizations, St. Andres Church and local residents, is part of the observance of the 26th anniversary of National Night Out by the National Association of Town Watch.
Communities across the country use National Night Out as an opportunity to promote safe neighborhoods and crime prevention, said Hardacker.
The Bacon Street festiva, with a theme of “Reinventing Neighborhood,” highlights the changes, including a decrease in crime, that have taken place on Bacon Street.
“It’s a calmer neighborhood as compared to what it used to be,” said Police Chief Roger Beaupre. It “doesn’t have gangs of kids hanging around the streets” as it did in previous years, he said.
Young people not only from Biddeford, but also from other nearby communities such as Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Lyman and other places used to congregate on the Bacon Street because it was reputed to be a “cool” place to hang out, said Beaupre. This environment made the neighborhood seem unsafe to residents, he said.
The atmosphere and attitude on Bacon Street has changed, said Beaupre. He said the area has become “uninviting for those causing disruption.”
A greater police presence is partly responsible for the change, said Beaupre, but his department can’t take all the credit.
When Linda Hardacker was hired as Biddeford’s community development coordinator more than four years ago, making changes for the better on Bacon Street became one of her primary missions.
She helped organize residents, with the assistance of community groups, to take back their neighborhood. Together, she said, they created parks, planted community gardens and held neighborhood clean-ups.
Residents also took a no-nonsense attitude to perceived trouble-makers in the area. That helped make the job of the police easier to clean-up disorderly conduct on the street, said Beaupre.
“The residents worked really hard to take charge of their neighborhood,” said Hardacker. “The area used to be really dirty, with a lot trash, vandalism and crime. People were afraid.”
Eric Peppipas, the site manager for Joyful Harvest, which holds programs for youth, agrees there has been a change on Bacon Street.
“Neighbors talk a lot more,” he said. “People say they feel a bit safer.”
The festival, he said, not only celebrates the changes which have taken place but also creates more positive change.
“It gets people out of their houses and get to know each other,” said Peppipas.
There will be something for everyone at the free, family event, said Hardacker.
The festival will include music, pony rides, games, food, a street dance, arts and crafts, a yard sale, costumed characters, a dunk tank, contests and rock climbing. There will also be free prizes for all the children.
The Bacon Street festival takes place Sunday, Aug. 2 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information on the festival, a schedule of events and a sponsor list, visit the Biddeford city Web site www.biddefordmaine.org.
There is no rain date. In the event of inclement weather activities will be held in St. Andres Church Hall at 41 Sullivan St., near Bacon Street.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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