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Harvest Festival remembers Sam Wright

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“She had this warm, energetic presence that just drew people to her. People felt close to her right away,” Bethany Mahar said.

KINGFIELD – Next weekend will mark the sixth year of Harvest Festival, held at Mountain Village Farm Bed and Breakfast. Last year the event drew roughly 300 people to the picturesque field for dancing, food and fun.

“It really started with wanting more opportunities to dance,” Maine Mountain Children’s House Director Bethany Mahar said.

Along with dancing, one of the initial motivations for the event was to highlight the area’s strong agricultural roots. Mahar and a small group of friends envisioned displays, demonstrations and activities all focused on the area’s agricultural offerings. Not only would the festival applaud the hard work of local farmers, it would serve as a fundraiser for Maine Mountain Children’s House- a childcare facility that had recently been started by Carrabassett Valley resident Sam Wright. Wright was among the group of daydreaming friends.

“She pretty much laughed at us. She had too much on her plate,” Mahar said.

Wright single-handedly founded MMCH in 2006 after seeing a need for quality childcare in the area. Opening a preschool wasn’t exactly what Wright had been planning to do, but knew it was something her community lacked. She enjoyed being around kids, was already well-known as the swimming instructor and worked for CV’s Outdoor Adventure Camp.

Maine Mountain Children’s House on a field trip to a nearby farm.

“She just said- well, I’ll make a preschool. I can do that,” Mahar said. “She was fearless.”

Wright was killed in a head-on collision one messy winter day in 2014. MMCH had grown from seven kids in the basement of a church, to a thriving, multi-aged program with multiple staff members. Wright funded the program herself, taking out a loan and often paying staff members out of her own pocket.

“Everyone made it a priority after that to keep the school going. For Sam’s sake. The support, both financially and emotionally was unbelievable,” she said. “We really bonded with the community.”

Wright had intentionally started the school with a Montessori foundation. The style of learning fosters independence in kids, encouraging them to do things like pour their own glasses of water, climb trees and choose their own lessons throughout the day. It places a huge focus on the outdoors and encourages good environmental practices with kids like composting food scraps and keeping down the amount of trash produced.

“We emphasize what Sam always emphasized- a love of nature and the environment,” Mahar said.

Mahar and the MMCH community have not only established Harvest Fest, which continues to grow each year, they’ve also skyrocketed to 25 students and are looking at ways to expand their facility to take on even more kids. Their success is in a large part due to what Wright started, with some of her fearless, persistent attitude carrying on. Harvest Festival is the school’s biggest fundraiser. Mahar said part of living in such a small town is recognizing that the community can only offer so much.

“We only want to ask once,” she said.

This year’s event will include a sheep shearing demonstration, followed by a carting and spinning exhibit. Orange Cat Cafe will be on site making brick oven pizza and signature MMCH sangria will be available for purchase, with all funds going to the school. Dyer and the Daydreamers will be providing music for dancing along with horse drawn wagon rides, games and activities and a raffle. The event runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Mountain Village Farm, 164 Main Street in Kingfield. Ticket sponsorships are priced at $10, $25 or $50, with perks included for each level. More information can be found by clicking here.

“After she died one of her students wrote this letter about Sam saying she was her best friend. In the end she wrote ‘she always made me feel comfortable.’ I feel like that’s when you know you’ve done your job as a teacher. If you make your students feel comfortable,” Mahar said.
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1 Comment

  1. Beautiful write-up for a beautiful event! “She had this warm, energetic presence that just drew people to her. People felt close to her right away,” Bethany Mahar said. The same could be (is) said about Bethany. Look forward to seeing our community get together again!

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