Madawaska invests in Rock the Valley event

MADAWASKA – A weekend rock festival will be coming to Madawaska next summer.

None of the 16 residents attending Wednesday night’s special town meeting to vote on spending the money had a question as they voted to grant $10,000 to organizers of the Rock the Valley Festival.

Residents also approved $7,000 to fund a planning grant for renovations needed at Wisdom House in Madawaska.

The meeting, moderated by Robert Bellefleur, lasted about six minutes, according to Town Manager Fred Ventresco on Thursday.

Organizers of the rock festival said they needed the seed money to help fund the effort. Selectmen had agreed to fund the project, depending on approval by residents. They felt the festival would be a project that promotes the community.

The festival weekend will have other activities, organizers say. The planning is not complete, but they have talked of having another concert the same weekend for younger people. That could be held outdoors at a drive-in theater lot.

Mark Albert, a spokesman for the organizers, said the idea came to residents after attending an April Wine concert in Canada last summer.

“Why not have something like this in Madawaska?” he told selectmen when discussing the proposal last month.

The $10,000 comes from the town’s Urban Development Action Grant money.

UDAG money comes from a nearly 2-decades-old fund with which the town had acquired federal grant money. The money was lent to Fraser Paper Inc. As the company repays the loan, the town uses that money for economic development projects.

The town also uses the money to assist fledgling companies or businesses that want to locate in the town.

The Rock the Valley Festival would be a weekend-long outing that would include a concert by April Wine on July Fourth weekend next year.

Wisdom House, a former boardinghouse, needs extensive renovations to allow its future use as a housing facility.

Its owner, James Roy, has asked the town for assistance with the project.