Holiday banners would help decorate Greenville
GREENVILLE — The holiday season should be a bit more festive this year in Greenville as the select board gave its approval to the purchase of 25 decorative banners.
The signs would be in place for the annual Deck the Halls celebration hosted by Destination Moosehead Lake starting on Saturday, Nov. 26, and remain up for the ensuing month.
During an Oct. 19 meeting, town officials heard from several community members who had researched the potential purchase.
“We all thought some sort of banners would be a great investment,” said Maren Mason. “You drive through a lot of towns and see these banners and they look great,” she said, mentioning decorations on display at various times of the year in Guilford and Dover-Foxcroft.
Mason said the double-sided green and red banners would say “Happy Holidays.”
“With everything going on downtown it would be nice and add that little touch,” Cheri Goodspeed said.
Many residents and business owners decorated for the season and people in and out of town would drive around to look at all the light displays when she was growing up, Mason said.
“I think this is something that would look very nice for our town,” Mason said.
The group had quotes for 14 banners, either $2,400 or $2,260 with shipping — the turnabout time is about three weeks after ordering — depending on the type of brackets to be used to attach the banners to utility poles. The banners would come with a three-year warranty. Central Maine Power has given permission for hanging them on the poles.
“We do have miscellaneous accounts we might be able to look at and allocate,” Select Chairperson Geno Murray said. The board directed Town Manager Mike Roy to look into banner funding, to see if there would be monies from some account(s) that could be used for 25 banners.
Selectperson Richard Peat said in the past the town has strung Christmas lights around the community, and he said to make sure the banners are evenly distributed around the downtown, the Junction, and elsewhere or otherwise the town office may be getting some complaints.
“This is about community pride,” Murray said, saying the banners would help bring people together during the holiday season.
Plans for the month-long Deck the Halls celebration are still to be announced. The 2021 event on the last Saturday of November included #ShopLocal promotions, an opportunity to snap pictures with Santa and write him letters, the Lights of Life Christmas Tree Lighting, the Deck the Halls parade and Christmas Decor Contest.
Handmade wreaths sponsored by area businesses and organizations helped decorate the streets to continue a tradition in Greenville.