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Town of Millinocket (2020) Print
2020 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Engaging residents in vibrant public places
└ Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Residents and leaders in Millinocket, located at the foot of Mount Katahdin, are working to make the town a four-season destination for outdoor recreation. To encourage residents to get outside and interact with their neighbors, the Town held the Katahdin Snowdown, a winter event. Activities included ice skating, snowshoeing, snow art and a bonfire. Organizers offered visitors hot chocolate and coffee. In addition, the Town installed a story walk -- a series of signs along a local hiking trail that each display a portion of a storybook. Equipment purchased for the event -- including benches, pop-up tents, insulated coolers and speakers -- are now available for use at other town events. The outdoor event provided residents with an intergenerational social outing during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the years since, the Snowdown has become an annual occurrence.
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Lemmon, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: The project will purchase a portable dance floor, which residents will be able to check out from the library for local events.
Pocatello, ID
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: Not every Pocatello neighborhood has its own public park or gathering space. To give residents a way to gather outside, NeighborWorks Pocatello created its Block Party Trailer. Equipped with folding picnic tables, chairs, cornhole games, an outdoor movie screen, collapsible garbage bins and more, the 22-foot trailer helps neighbors easily host block parties and other outdoor gatherings. "This will help people not only get to know their neighbors, but also just get them out into their neighborhoods," Neighborworks Community Equipment Manager Lisa Smith said.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Millinocket, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Trails
Description: Solar-powered lighting will be installed along a popular downtown walking trail, increasing safety and accessibility, especially for older walkers.
Dover-Foxcroft, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Walk Audits
Description: Central Hall Commons set out to address unsafe walking conditions downtown, where broken sidewalks, missing handrails and unreliable crossing signals pushed pedestrians into traffic. This made routine trips risky for older adults and people with limited mobility. Walk audits of Monument Square and Union Square documented steep sidewalk slopes, gaps at private properties, a crosswalk near an accident-prone intersection and signals that failed or were missing. One walker said confusion at crossings led them to "jump out ahead of vehicles," showing how failures shaped dangerous behavior. The project produced a formal audit with fixes, from repairing signals and closing sidewalk gaps to adding benches and traffic-calming treatments. The work elevated pedestrian safety in public decision-making. It is intended to influence near-term fixes and the scope of future improvements that better support older adults and other residents.
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