Building Community Through Recreation
Recreation envelops this region, this state, this corridor of the country; ensuring access to it is the mission of a dynamic program based in Skowhegan and open to the rest of Somerset County.
The Skowhegan Outdoors AmeriCorps Program, an initiative of Main Street Skowhegan, was created in 2019 in partnership with Volunteer Maine, the Outdoor Sport Institute and local organizations. The goal was to ensure equitable access to the outdoors and to enable participants to achieve healthier, more active lifestyles with free, guided outdoor activities and gear.
Since January, the heart and face of Skowhegan Outdoors is the Basecamp. Located at 65 Water Street with an entrance on the Kennebec River side of the building, the Basecamp is a well-stocked gear library of free sports equipment and a clearing house of program information.
It is also where visitors and borrowers can meet members of AmeriCorps, a unique federal program of individuals who give their time and talent to strengthen communities), and benefit from their enthusiasm for the program and their enjoyment of Maine. Home states of current AmeriCorps staff include Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Virginia and one of them is on duty at Basecamp from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each weekday.
(Note: Basecamp can also be accessed from the Water Street Side through Joe’s Flat Iron Cafe, where good coffee, food, and wifi service are available.)
The key to scheduling a free outdoor activity is the Skowhegan Outdoors monthly calendar which is displayed at many downtown businesses and bulletin boards, on the website and at Basecamp. August, for example, offers regularly-scheduled sessions of whitewater rafting and kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, a WalkAbout, yoga and community smores during an Outdoor Day at Lake George where some of the water activities are held.
The August schedule begins, significantly, with Skowhegan River Fest during which a number of events such as a Glowstick Paddle, a Golf Tournament, Inflatable Kayaking and a Move More Kids 5K FUN Run, Walk, Race on the calendar are outdoors (Dinner in the Park is outdoors, too) and are recreation-based and when Basecamp is sponsoring the Maine Outdoor Film Festival on August 1 and Inflatable Kayaking in the Skowhegan Gorge on August 2 and 3.
Along with the positive reception and growth of Skowhegan Outdoors further recreation visions are in the works. The Skowhegan River Park (a.k.a. Run of the River) is a plan to develop the downtown river gorge into accessible river access, enhanced whitewater, and a two-mile riverfront promenade for pedestrians and bikes.
Permits are expected to be received this fall and the venture can move forward knowing that, thanks to Skowhegan Outdoors, river programs and gear are already in place — building community through recreation. For more information visit skowheganoutdoors.com.
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