The Dundee Duck arrives in time for an exciting Dundee Park Summer by Lorraine Glowczak

Ron and Dusti Faucher, Linda Brooks, Tony Plante

The Dundee Duck will now greet and welcome all visitors to its scenic 20-acre Dundee Park this summer, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Windham Parks and Recreation Department, its committee members and the contributions of local businesses and entrepreneurs. The unveiling of the mascot occurred at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 14 at the park with committee members, town officials and park managers on hand to celebrate its arrival.

Pat Moody, Chair of the Recreation Committee and Linda Brooks, Windham Recreation Director,

welcomed all present, introducing and thanking the individuals who supplied the creative contributions and the technical portion that brought the creation into reality.

Nikki Jarvais from Windham and owner of Rinck Advertising in Lewiston, along with her Co-creator and Project Manager, Elizabeth Rentz, also from Windham - are the creative minds behind the soon to be infamous, Dundee Duck. Brendan Faherty of Windham Innovations (a small subsidiary of Windham Mill Works) produced the family-friendly signage you will find around the park. “We did our best to make Dundee Duck family friendly and to keep the logo colors of the Windham Parks and Recreation Department,” Jarvais stated of the combined effort.

“We originally thought the mascot would be a loon,” Moody stated to the crowd on Monday evening. “But Jarvais approached Linda and her staff, telling them that a cartoon of a loon with its small eyes and black head can look pretty scary and suggested the more approachable and cheerful caricature of a duck.”

Brooks and her staff agreed and thus the Dundee Duck was born.

Park Managers, Ron and Dusti Faucher are looking forward to another exciting summer, only this
time sharing the season with Dundee Duck. This is their sixth year as managers, living on site, to make sure the quality of the park is maintained and family friendly throughout the summer.

“We have been the managers here for a little over six years,” stated Ron Faucher. “And we have seen the park expand and improve in that short time. We see a lot of amazing people from the region, including those from various cultural backgrounds. They come here and enjoy the area throughout the week. They eat, play, swim and simply have a fun, family-style experience together. It is great to see and it’s the very mission of Dundee Park to provide a safe and healthy environment for an enjoyable summer time getaway.”

Besides the family recreational and swimming activities Dundee Park provides along the Presumpscot River, it will once again offer its annual four-week Summer Concert Series that will occur every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., beginning on July 11 and ending August 1. Gates will open for free after 5 p.m. on these Wednesdays.

Musical guests for this year’s series will include in order: 121 Band, The Hurricanes, Downeast Soul Coalition, with the well-known local musical talent, Rick Charette ending the Summer Concert Series.

The Dundee Park will also be the host location for the “Summer Meals at Dundee”, a free, federal summer food service program that works in collaboration with the RSU14 nutrition program. More details regarding this event to come in a future article.

Dundee Park will reopen on Saturday, May 26 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends only, until June 23.

From that date until August 12, the park will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., returning to its weekend only time after that until September 3. Dundee Park will close for the season on September 3 at 5 p.m.

The park offers bathrooms and a beverage vending machine, as well as boat rentals and barbeque grills throughout the picnic areas. Day and seasonal passes are available for residents and non-residents. Day passes are $5 for residents $3 for children and $6 for adult non-residents, $4 for non-resident children. Senior and veteran discounts apply.

Seasonal passes are per household vehicle and cost $50 for residents and $65 for non-residents.

For more information, call the Windham Parks and Recreation Office at 892-1905 or visit our website at www.windhammaine.us or check Dundee Park on Facebook.

Be sure to put Dundee Park on your summer “bucket list” to not only see firsthand its new Dundee Duck mascot, but to create exciting and lasting Dundee Park memories with your family.

Concert series at Dundee Park a success - By Elizabeth Richards

The summer concert series at Dundee Park had it all – free music performed by local musicians, swimming, a gorgeous setting and plenty of sunshine.  Opening up the park for this free series attracted many visitors who otherwise might not have experienced all that Dundee Park has to offer.  

In an August 5th memo to the town council, assistant town manager Phyllis Moss said, “The Park[s] and Recreation Summer Concert [Series] was a huge success! It was very well attended and it allowed many people to be introduced to Dundee Park for the first time. Kudos to Linda Brooks and the Park [s] and Recreation Advisory Committee for their efforts in pulling this series together.”

Windham Parks and Recreation Director Linda Brooks said she heard a lot of feedback regarding the series encouraging people to visit the park. “That seemed to be one of the biggest benefits of this concert series, the discovery or re-discovery of Dundee Park,” she said.  “It was nice to be able to showcase this really lovely facility that the town owns.”

Attendance at the concerts grew each week, Brooks said, and by the fourth show, which was beloved children’s performer Rick Charette, the unofficial count was over 400 people.  And they didn’t just come by car, Brooks said.  People watched from canoes and kayaks in the water as well. Those who did come by car sometimes ended up parking all the way back at the gate, but Brooks said despite the walk in, everyone was in a good mood. “For the most part families just seemed to take it in and enjoy the whole thing,” she said.

Windham resident Kristen Kelley said she attended the last two concerts in the series, and the only reason she missed the first two was that she didn’t know about them.  “It was very nice to bring dinner and hang out with friends on the last two beautiful Wednesday nights,” she said.  

Kelley and her children particularly enjoyed the Rick Charette show.  “Rick Charette was awesome as usual, and got the kids moving and dancing with him on stage,” she said. “The beach was packed and so was the water, and all the kids seemed to have a blast.”  A highlight for her kids, she added, was being able to take a picture with Charette after the show.  

Free entry to the park for the concerts made the series accessible to all. “We love great, free, family fun,” Kelley said. 

The Parks and Recreation Department increased accessibility for senior citizens by providing van transportation, said Brooks. “The combination of plenty of sun and plenty of shade at Dundee made it really suitable for all ages,” she said. 

Becky Ireland, Director of the Be The Influence Coalition, a Windham-Raymond Collaborative which aims to reduce teen substance use, said that community events like the concert series are important because they build connections outside the home.  “Young people who feel that their community cares about them and who are engaged with family and community activities are less likely to experience a variety of things which can impact their safety and success- such as substance use, violence, problems in school and mental health issues,” she said.

The coalition was represented at all four concerts, displaying their "Teen Brain: Under Construction" educational materials.  “We aim for the community to have consistent information that they can use to help support teens in making healthy choices - after all- they are the future parents, neighbors, and workforce which will help keep our communities strong,” said Ireland.

A few community organizations stepped forward to run the concession stand at the concerts, including a local dance studio, Boy Scouts and the American Legion Auxiliary.  Brooks said this was a good model that they plan to continue with for next year, encouraging other community organizations to get involved. Though the concessions are a fundraiser for the organizations, “It’s not just about the money, but also to be able to promote what they are all about,” Brooks said.

The committee wants to build upon the success of the series this year in future years, Brooks said.  The four bands were local performers, each with a different style of music.  They plan to follow the same four concert format for next year, Brooks said.

Brooks said the Dundee Park staff did an amazing job, especially on the hot nights when as many people were watching the concerts from the water as from shore. 

“The concert series was an excellent way for diverse community members to come together and enjoy a variety of music in a beautiful place that they otherwise might not think to go to,” said Ireland.  “I heard many people say they had not been to the park in years or had never been but that they plan to come back to enjoy it again soon.”