BANGOR – Pat LaMarche, political and radio personality and weekly columnist for the Bangor Daily News, turned past the halfway mark of her marathon 94.5-hour-long Ferris wheel ride Wednesday afternoon at the Bangor State Fair in a fundraiser for the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.

The thermometer was pushing 90 degrees, but LaMarche said by cell phone from the 2 o’clock position on the ride that “I think it’s harder on the volunteers,” referring to the people manning the fundraising tables near the base of the wheel. “I keep moving around, so the breeze is nice.”

LaMarche has had plenty of time to think in her gondola on a ride that began at 10 Monday morning and is scheduled to conclude at 8:30 a.m. Friday. LaMarche calculated that given the 95-foot circumference of the wheel and the 1,200 revolutions per day she has counted, “If I could break the wheel free, I’d be in Hampden by now.”

The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter has been designated the Maine beneficiary of a United Parcel Service challenge and fundraiser for the United Way of New England. The shelter is competing against four nonprofit organizations from other New England states. In conjunction with the UPS Golf Classic on Aug. 6, the company will make sure that the charity that raises the most money winds up with $25,000.

According to a press release from the Bangor shelter, LaMarche has announced a goal of $8,000 by Friday morning, and as of Day Two the total raised was $3,498.

According to Dennis Marble, the shelter’s executive director, public response to the LaMarche fundraiser has been outstanding, and from the shelter’s perspective, “the visibility of what Pat’s doing has been over the top.”

Donations can be made to the shelter fundraiser either at the volunteer table at the base of the Ferris wheel ride at the fair or at the shelter on Main Street. Checks should be made out to the United Way with “Bangor Area Homeless Shelter” in the memo line on the check.