March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Lobster Festival fund drive begins in Rockland

ROCKLAND — A drive to generate $24,000 in donations from area businesses to ensure the continuation of the Maine Lobster Festival started Tuesday with a breakfast meeting of some of the 43 volunteers who will solicit support for the major summer event.

The drive was kicked off with a $1,500 donation from Key Bank and one of $1,200 from Rolf M. Foster-Jorgensen, the president-elect of the festival and owner of three small businesses, Mr. Bearymore’s Toy Store, Management Results Inc. and World of Discovery, a daycare center. Frank G. Morong, vice president of Key Bank, and chairman of the business division of the fund drive, presented the $1,500 on behalf of the bank. Previously, $500 had been donated by the Maine Sardine Council.

Foster-Jorgensen reported that the festival needed $20,000 for start-up costs. With a bank balance of $12,000, he said that $8,000 was needed immediately. The other $16,000 would be used to offset expected losses in 1990, and to provide a cushion toward the 1991 festival.

The new head of the festival said that the days when the event made money for charity and recreation might be a thing of the past. He would not discount a repeat of fund drives every year to seek financial support from area businesses to keep the festival alive. He cited increased expenses and a diminished force of volunteers as driving up the cost of producing the annual event that had become a tradition in Maine for 43 years.

When the festival directors announced April 28 that the festival would be canceled this year, Foster-Jorgensen said the response was immediate and that the business community came forward with offers of support to keep the tradition alive. It now was time to seek financial support to assist in underwriting the festival.

As outlined, volunteers will contact 200 businesses “face-to-face” to solicit donations. A letter campaign to 500 other businesses will begin next week. Several public functions were planned, including a dance June 2 at the Samoset, and a boat trip on June 8. Also, public donations based on the price of lobster on June 5 was planned. People will be asked to donate the price of one or more lobsters to the fund drive.

A chemical-free dance held for teen-agers on March 31 raised $1,000 for the festival.

Chairman of the fund-raising campaign is Ed Kolmosky, owner of Fuller Olds-Cadillac. He said that with the loss of two fish-processing companies and the closure of a leather tannery, Rockland was more dependent upon tourism than ever before.

“The tourism business is becoming very important,” he said. “Those monies are supporting us.” Kolmosky said that volunteers should emphasize to businesses being solicited the importance of maintaining the festival and the business it attracted to Midcoast Maine. With the city’s natural resources available as an attraction to summer visitors, Kolmosky said, “We should not sell ourselves short by not promoting this industry.”

The cost of staging a festival is expensive, he said.

“I like that parade on Saturday morning. That’s part of America and we’ve got to portray that. They (businesses) have got to understand that when these people (tourists) are gone, the dollars are gone. Make sure that people understand that,” he said, in rallying the volunteers to a successful campaign.

Foster-Jorgensen said that he was confident of success. Already planned at the conclusion of the drive on June 14 is a “Victory event” at the Samoset.


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