PORTLAND — Organizers of Carnaval Maine, held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 on the Eastern Promenade, plan to host another next year and are looking at ways to increase attendance and expand the winter festival.
Brian Corcoran, CEO of Shamrock Sports and Entertainment, said changes could include extending children’s activities throughout the weekend, holding the festival at the beginning January rather than at the end, and adding music or “theatrics.”
“I’m confident we will wake up a few years from now and this event will be a big feather in the hat of the community,” he said.
The attendance goal was 10,000.
“If we add up all the programs and tickets, we just about hit that but we are looking to grow that,” Corcoran said. “However, we did find that 40 percent of customers were non-Maine residents, many coming from even Canada which was pretty great,” Corcoran said.
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