Jessica Quinn joined the Hancock Recreation Committee after moving to town and searching for a way to get involved. Quickly, she discovered there were no other participants and asked her long-lost best friend from high school, Meghan Gould, to join.
Over Instagram, Gould accepted and their friendship rekindled after 20 years.
Since then, Quinn and Gould have created and organized the weekly summer farmers and artisans market for five years and kept the tradition of Old Home Days alive for four years.
“I have a daughter who was 5 when we started doing this, and she’s 10 now,” Quinn said.
After about half a decade of dedicating themselves to these events, Quinn and Gould plan to take a break.
“We might come back at some point,” Gould said. “We just need a breather.”
Both want to dedicate more of their summers to spending time with their families and enjoying the short stint of nice New England weather, but plan to attend the events as guests next year.
“We have enjoyed getting to do this together and enjoyed getting to see people in the town have such a nice time at all these events,” Quinn said.
End of an era
Both organizers have tons of memories from the events, including the troop of corgis in the Old Home Days parade.
One of Quinn’s favorite memories was the first year of the foam party.
She remembers standing between two foam cannons before the explosion of foam, watching the kids with anticipation. The moment the foam shot out, Quinn recalls the joy in the crowd.
“They were shrieking with delight, and it was just so special to see them so excited,” Quinn said.
The popular foam party returned for the third time on Saturday, as did the club of corgis for the parade.
Over the years, the two-woman team has expanded Old Home Days, in collaboration with other town groups.
The farmers market, on the other hand, was their own creation.
When Kathy Anderson asked at a recreation committee meeting how to attract a larger audience to the summer concerts, Quinn and Gould decided to restart the farmers market.
With no blueprint or experience with organizing a market, Quinn and Gould carved their own path and feel confident with the road map for the next generation of organizers.
“This is not a monopoly or a dynasty; we want to give other people all the opportunity to put their own spin on it and contribute to the community,” Gould said.
While they are still searching for someone to take over Old Home Days, the team has found successors for the farmers market.
Quinn and Gould handed their reins to Crystal Fichera and Christopher Cornell, owners of Peony Place Farmstead in Hancock, after the last farmers market of the season on Aug. 13.
Peony Place Farmstead has been a long-term vendor at the farmers market and has experience running multiple other markets in the area.
Fichera said they look forward to getting more involved in the town.
“We could not be taking over from a better group,” she said.
Quinn and Gould stressed they are still looking for volunteers for Old Home Days.
Both organizers feel grateful for all the vendors, food trucks and participants in both events every summer.
This year’s Hancock Old Home Days took place on Friday and Saturday, full of events for young and old.
