Local amusement now that the tourists have left

So what do we do in Bar Harbor now that all the tourists are mostly gone and the shops and restaurants are closing to escape to warmer weather? Well we take over the town and create our own amusements that still draw people outside of town.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving we have our annual Pajama Sale- in fact this year we celebrated our 15th! The stores open at 6 AM and offer discounts to shoppers and to sweeten the pot, they give additional discounts if you dress in your PJs. Well to me the only way I am shopping that early is to just roll out of bed and throw on my long fleece robe and head out the door.

There is a festive spirit as people run about in their PJs and robes and often try to outdo each other with some of their outfits and favorite stuffed animal in tow. Now I don't do well that early in the AM and usually make it out about 7:30 to scout out what's around and then build my shopping list for the next sale- Midnight Madness- but more about that in a later post.

The stores offer hot drinks and goodies and people wander around from store to store scooping up the bargains. I find it a to be a type of coming out for the locals to meet and greet and reclaim the town for themselves after the hectic months of summer and fall tourists.

In an effort to extend this day, we now have a bed race down one of the main streets. People dress up old beds and themselves, put wheels on the beds and push and pull the beds down the street and back again in a timed race for the grand prize of $500!

By now it is 10:00 AM and folks in street clothes mingle with those in their PJs, nightgowns and robes- no one thinking that anything looks out of place with this scenario. It continues after the race is over and we all go about our normal Saturday morning chores- going to the town dump ( er- transfer station), supermarket and the PO. By that time being in your PJs seems normal and you wonder why some people are staring at you as you go about in total oblivion.

Yup, that is what we do when the tourists leave- our annual ritual of reclaiming the town in our own unique style!