PRESQUE ISLE – It was just four days until the big night and Michelle Michaud was behind schedule.

Twenty minutes after a rehearsal was supposed to start for the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Biathlon Junior World Championships, Michaud dashed into the gymnasium area at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Gentile Hall with several rolls of masking tape circling her wrist like bracelets. She handed them off to a dance instructor, who needed the tape to mark the floor, and almost immediately rushed back out the door to tackle another problem.

Michaud said later on Monday night that she usually doesn’t run late like this, but that preparing for the 20 ceremonies that will take place during the world championships has definitely taken its toll.

“Do I look as stressed out as I feel?” she asked half-joking.

Michaud is serving along with Kris Doody-Chabre as co-chairwoman of the ceremonies committee, one of the many volunteer groups within the 2006 BJWC organizing committee, which is hosting the event from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3 at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle. Organizers expect about 250 young athletes from 28 countries, as well as hundreds of support staff and about 18,000 spectators, to attend the event, which they say will boost the state’s economy by $4 million.

Michaud’s job is to help organize more than two dozen ceremonies during the event – everything from traditional Olympic-style medal ceremonies to flower ceremonies and, most importantly, a big dance extravaganza of an opening ceremony to kick off the international event.

“This is the big one,” Michaud said as she watched about 65 dancers from all over Aroostook County run through the dances they will present at Gentile Hall at 7 p.m. Friday. “We want to show everyone that we can do a big show up here in The County. We want to please the athletes and visitors and let them take home something they can remember.”

Last February, Michaud and Chabre asked Colleen Duplissie, owner of the Caribou-based Maine Dance Academy, if she would showcase her dancers during the opening ceremonies. Duplissie said on Monday during a break in the rehearsal that she was honored.

“This is an opportunity for my boys and girls to be able to say they danced in front of people from so many countries,” Duplissie said. “These kids are thrilled to be doing this.”

Four groups, ranging in age from 7 to 17, will dance to their own song, then all 65 will take part in a grand finale to Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Shining Star.” They’ve been practicing for four months, and though they know several hundred athletes will see their show, they’re hoping for about 1,000 others to turn out.

“This shows that even though you’re from a small area, you can still do big things,” Duplissie said just before joining her dancers back in the gym to make them run through their entrances again. “I think this is an extravaganza everyone should see.”

Michaud agreed, noting that there will only be seating for about 600 people, so spectators should come early or expect to watch the ceremonies in standing areas.

Wrapping up some work in the Gentile Hall lobby, she eventually made her way back into the gym as Frank Sinatra belted out “It Had To Be You” over the speaker system.

Taking a moment to rest, she sighed and took stock of the situation.

“It’s been crazy,” she admitted. “But it will all be worth it once everybody comes to the biathlon and has a good time.”