The local paper of record didn't print this letter to the editor these last two weeks, so we'll just publish it ourselves!

Thank you again, one and all, for another great Crafts Festival.

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For 27 years running, dedicated volunteers and the staff of the Wells Reserve and Laudholm Trust, along with hundreds of master artisans, have been proving that there is life here after Labor Day.

This year was no exception, as 180 friends and neighbors banded together to pull off the annual Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival on September 6-7. Thirty-two hundred attendees browsed finely crafted works by more than 110 artisans, even in Saturday’s surprising swelter.

The Crafts Festival is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Wells Reserve at Laudholm and supports our coastal research, education, and conservation programs. We like to think of it as “Southern Maine’s best art festival,” because it pairs art with nature to help protect, preserve, and study the very environment -- Maine’s coast – from which so many of us draw inspiration and energy.

Proceeds from this year’s festival will also be used to complete a solar panel installation that will make the Wells Reserve the first nonprofit in Maine to go “100% solar powered” this fall.

Our most heartfelt thanks go out to our tireless volunteers, our lead sponsors Kennebunk Savings, Marshall Tent Rentals, and Maine Magazine, Duffy’s Tavern, and the 30+ other local businesses who generously donated goods and services to help make this year’s Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival a great success once again.

Sincerely,

Nik Charov

President, Laudholm Trust