MILLINOCKET – The operators of Millinocket Municipal Airport held their first-ever airplane Fly-In and Classic Car Show on Columbus Day weekend and were pleasantly surprised when more than 500 people came.

“We were very overwhelmed,” Jeff Campbell, the airport’s supervisor, said Wednesday. “It was something we hadn’t done before. We had an absolutely beautiful day and we did quite a bit of legwork promoting it, so it went off really well.”

Now town officials want to build on that success, elevate the airport’s standing around the state and bolster the Katahdin Area Winterfest with the festival’s first-ever Ski Plane Fly-In and Antique Snowmobile Show at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The fly-in is one of two new additions to Winterfest activities, said Thomas Malcolm, a volunteer organizer of the event as the Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce’s representative on the town’s Winterfest Committee.

The other event is KACC’s Artisan Marketplace at Granite Street School at 9 a.m. Saturday. About 21 vendor tables have been sold so far, with space still available and more artists wanted, Malcolm said.

“We have had some interest from local crafters and artisans, and we thought this would be a good time to have a show,” Malcolm said. “A lot of people come into the area for the sledding, and their wives might not want to go to sledding and want to do something else that’s fun.”

Both additions show “that there is a lot more interest in the community to work together to do more things for people coming into the community, and that’s a good thing,” he added.

Meant to celebrate snowmobiling and the region’s rich outdoor winter environment, the Winterfest begins at 6 p.m. Friday with a snowmobile parade on Penobscot Avenue followed by a fireworks show at the Millinocket Recreation Complex at Stearns High School at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited.

Events continue through the weekend and conclude at 6 p.m. Wednesday with Kids Night at the Northern Timber Cruisers clubhouse.

Last year’s event drew about 1,000 people, but organizers won’t be surprised if they see many more visitors this weekend thanks to the spectacularly snowy winter Maine has had. Millinocket and the region have been nationally recognized by the travel Web site TripAdvisor.com as one of the world’s top snowmobiling areas.

To Brian Wiley, Chamber president, the importance of the snow’s presence cannot be overstated.

“Snow is the prime ingredient for success in an event like this,” Wiley said. “It adds to the flavor of the event by giving [visitors] the ability to ride snowmobiles wherever they want.”

Wednesday’s snowstorm and Lincoln Snowhounds Snowmobile Club’s ninth annual Sno-Cross Races on Saturday and Sunday probably will transform the Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes regions into one big snowmobile party this weekend. Malcolm believes the events complement each other.

“It’s 30 miles away,” Malcolm said of Lincoln. “A lot of people coming up for our parade on Friday night will go down there on the weekend. We’ve had a lot of people who have asked about the trail access” between the two towns.

Yet the Winterfest has had one significant loss: The Northern Timber Cruisers snowmobile club canceled the annual snowmobile poker run, Malcolm said.

The event is sponsored by the Chamber, snowmobile club, town of Millinocket, Fin & Feather Club, East Millinocket Celebration Committee and Maine Warden Service.

nsambides@bangordailynews.net

794-8215

What’s happening

Friday, Feb. 15

. Snowmobile Parade, Penobscot Avenue, 6 p.m., with bonfire and concessions at the Veterans Park bandstand

. Fireworks Display, Millinocket Recreation Complex at Stearns High School, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16

. Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce Artisan Marketplace, Granite Street School, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

. Fin & Feather Club Family Fun Day, Jerry Pond, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

. Ski Plane Fly-In and Antique Snowmobile Show, Millinocket Municipal Airport, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

. Baked Bean Supper, Northern Timber Cruisers clubhouse, 4-6 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 17

. Pancake Breakfast, Northern Timber Cruisers clubhouse, 7-11 a.m.

. Children’s Day, East Millinocket Skating Rink, noon-3 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 20

. Kids Night, Northern Timber Cruisers clubhouse, 6-9 p.m.