Wiscasset Middle High School graduate Daren Wood is a mechanical engineer at Peregrine Turbine Technologies in Wiscasset. But Saturday, Wood was splitting wood for the firepit that was one of the few outdoor aspects of Winterfest at Wiscasset Community Center, where he also works. It was the Wiscasset resident’s first time at the annual event. His February school breaks were always busy, he explained.

Besides yielding warmth in the below freezing morning, the fire, like Wood, had another job: Wiscasset Parks and Recreation’s recreation programmer Chelsea Taylor was toasting marshmallows over it for s’mores.

Had there been snow, Taylor also would have been leading snowshoers over the trails. And Winterfest would have had its snowmobile rides. “It’s kind of a bummer that we missed out on the snow again,” despite pushing the event back a couple weeks this year, she said. “But that’s OK, we still have a lot of fun stuff planned.” Taylor said a breakfast had 25 takers, and she was hopeful an open swim and a cornhole tournament would also do well. Earlier in the week were a supper, cribbage tournament, paint night and the start of the silent auction. Winterfest raises money for the Cooper-DiPerri Scholarship Fund that can help people access the department’s programs.

The event is also is a chance to bring the community together at a time of year not much else is going on, Taylor said. 

Wiscasset’s Bryan James and sons Owen, 8, and Roman, 6, stopped at Finance Authority of Maine’s table where FAME college access counselor Maire Pelletier was handing out NextGen 529 fliers and hot chocolate. 

How was it? “Good,” the brothers answered in unison between sips.