UPDATE: Neighborhood fair planned for Bangor’s Coe Park now on Sunday

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - UPDATE: Due to rain in the forecast for Saturday, the Together Place Neighborhood Fair at Coe Park has a new date.

It will now be held this Sunday, June 11.

Events will still begin with a Fun Run at 10 a.m.

Our very own Jon Small and Brittany McHatten are emceeing the fair.

Coe Park in Bangor is the place to be this weekend.

A trio of local organizations are coming together to host the Together Place Neighborhood Fair.

In addition to Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center, Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness and Food and Medicine are joining together to throw the inaugural event.

The jam-packed day includes a talk by a bestselling Penobscot author fresh off a major literary award.

“I feel like we live in an age where it’s easy for us to toss away the difficult people in our lives. It’s easy to say, ‘I’ve had enough of this type of issue,’ but we can’t do that. We need each other. We need that sense of community,” said Morgan Talty, author, “Night of the Living Rez.”

The Neighborhood Fair is an effort to build community in a location organizers say has historically high overdose rates.

It’s a mission near to Talty.

“I come from a family that has struggled with substance abuse, so the mere fact that I was asked by Sean to talk about this made me feel excited because it’s the work I care about. My book is very much focused on substance abuse,” he said.

That book, “Night of the Living Rez,” is striking a chord with readers across the county.

Published less than a year ago, it’s wracking up accolades including a prestigious 2023 PEN award.

The aim of his debut short story collection, he says, is to write about what it means to be human.

“I do write what I know. You know, I write from experience and, you know, I am indigenous, I am Penobscot. And it only made sense, you know, for me to write about those things because I love those things. The things I care deeply about and it’s like, why not frame that with my desire to get at, you know, what it means to be alive,” Talty said.

The hope is to leave the neighborhood better than they found it. Organizers are soliciting ideas for improvement through a raffle.

“We really feel proud of this as being a fair that goes beyond the fair. That is the saying. We’re convening ideas, grassroots ideas, to do what we can to lift up this section of the city of which we’re very proud,” said Sean Faircloth, executive director, Together Place Peer Run Recover Center.

In addition to Talty’s remarks, there will also be a fun run, horse and wagon ride, music from local artists, ice cream, and much more.

To learn more, check out the event’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/3309747176004383

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