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Milling About a Major Success “Milling About” a Major Success Milling About, a community-wide arts and culture event, was held on Friday, January 20, 2006 at the North Dam Mill in Biddeford. The event drew more than 700 visitors to a historic mill building on the Saco River to experience the creative renaissance in the Saco-Biddeford area. More than 65 local artists displayed their work, including painters, sculptors, fiber artists, woodworkers, floral designers and stained glass artists. A performance piece entitled “Light-Play” drew rave reviews, as did live music by three local bands. Food provided by 12 local restaurants was gone within an hour—as a result, a number of restaurants in downtown Biddeford reported record traffic after the event. In addition, the public got to see how the potential of its historic mill structures is being realized. At Milling About, members of the Cultural Planning Committee surveyed more than 60 attendees to learn about the audience for arts and culture in the Saco-Biddeford area. The audience was overwhelmingly impressed with the event, and the reasons for people enjoying themselves were very diverse. Many responded very positively to the mill space itself and others remarked about the size and the energy of the crowd. Others focused more on specific installations—furniture, paintings, quilts and live performances. Many people also commented positively on the old photographs of local history. The event raised nearly $4,000 for the Twin Cities Cultural Plan, which will be put back into upcoming arts and culture events in the community. Local photographer Bill Edmunds documented the event and has posted a slideshow here. The next major cultural event planned for Biddeford is Mardi Gras North, a music and cultural celebration that will be held in May at more than ten venues throughout the city. More details will be announced soon. For more information about “Milling About” or the Cultural Plan, please visit the project website at: www.sacobiddefordculture.org. FOR MORE INFORMATION: David E. Versel, Project Director Twin Cities Cultural Plan Tel (207) 590-8617 dversel@yahoo.com Contacts | Mission Statement | Minutes | Events Calendar | News | Links | Home |