While attendance at last weekend’s third annual Gorham Founders Festival was less than hoped, the director of the festival is looking forward to planning next year’s celebration.
“We had a great event, even though the attendance was not as high as we were hoping for,” Darryl Wright, who directed the event for the Westbrook Gorham Community Chamber, said on Tuesday.
This year marked the first founders festival to be organized by the chamber and its date was shifted from Memorial Day weekend for the two previous festivals to July 26 and 27. It followed Buxton Community Days and the Yarmouth Clam Festival.
“We knew that with this being a transition year, with the Westbrook Gorham Chamber taking over the event and the date changing, that it may be a down year, but we expect this event to grow going forward,” said Wright, who is vice chairman of the Gorham School Committee.
The Gorham Fire Department sponsors the festival’s chicken barbecue dinner, and Chief Robert Lefebvre said the number of meals served has diminished.
This year, Lefebvre said, between 180 and 185 dinners were served. But in 2011, the first year of the Gorham Founders Festival, 200 chicken dinners were sold out within 30 minutes, and the shortage sent volunteers scrambling to buy more chicken.
At one time, firefighters served as many as 600 to 700 barbecue chicken meals during town festivals, Lefebvre said.
Wright thanked this year’s festival’s volunteers, who put in countless hours.
“I am very appreciative of all of their time and hard work. Also, without the support of the businesses and the town itself, we couldn’t have had the event,” Wright said.
Wright said the opening reception with the founding families went well and the entertainment was great.
“Saturday night ended with a bang with a spectacular fireworks show,” Wright said.
Wright is optimistic about next year’s festival.
“I look forward to meeting with the committee again soon and start the plans for next years event,” he said.
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