Greg Uthoff of BIRCH, a gift shop on Main Street in Wiscasset, said the holiday shopping season was very busy. “It was a good year,” he said. He said the downtown holiday Marketfest from Dec. 6 to 9 was highly successful. “It was very busy both Friday and Saturday,” he said. Uthoff credited Marketfest and Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ seasonal attraction, Gardens Aglow. He and partner Brad Sevaldson are in the midst of their last week open until spring, while the store is holding its post-Christmas sale. The store will close Jan. 5 and reopen in April.

Just down the block, Moulinette owner Margot Sullivan also said the season was good and that Marketfest and Gardens Aglow made a difference.  “It was very nice. People would stop here before Gardens Aglow, or maybe spend the night locally and shop on their way home,” she said. “Marketfest seems to be growing, and it was very well attended this year.” Her store will close for the winter in mid-January.

Bee-licious, run by Monica Carrington, echoed what Sullivan and Uthoff said about Marketfest and Gardens Aglow.  “We had a lot of visitors from both events,” she said. Carrington is not closing the business for the winter. “I sell honey, and everyone wants honey all year, especially in the wintertime.” 

Parking did not seem to be an issue, all three said. “I heard no complaints about parking,” Sullivan said.  She noticed people are starting to park in the Water Street lot. “I think it will be fine,” she said.

Uthoff said his store got a minor parking reprieve. “Because they couldn’t get the drainage done this year, we still have some parking on this side of the street. But a lot of people came to the Marketfest event, and most of them parked off Main Street.”

Carrington did not see a parking problem this year, either. “No one mentioned it at all,” she said.

All three businesses are looking forward to a new season. “We’re making plans to have special events for the spring,” Sullivan said. “I think things are only going to get better with the downtown merchants working together.”