If We Build It, They Will Come
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 2nd, 2009
People did come. What a day! What a success!
Yesterday, after getting up at some incredibly post-setting-the-clocks-back time, I went downtown to finish the placing of the diorama in the front window of the International Cryptozoology Museum. There’s more fine-tuning to do, but one form of the changing assembly is in place. It is of Ice Age mammals on a snowfield with a few “sightings” available of a certain cryptid (“Where’s Sasquatch?”). I won’t identify the other species in the window display. You’ll have to come see for yourself.
The media attention to our opening on Sunday, November 1, had been nonstop, and thus people were coming, no matter what. We built it, and they came. You came.
Emily Burnham of the Bangor Daily News took one of the last pre-opening photos of the preparation.
The time for building the field of dreams was over, and despite the Green Hand Bookshop’s opening being temporarily delayed, separately, to the musuem, people were coming; they were coming in droves, as it turns out, from around the country for the “unofficial” museum opening on Sunday.
The big ribbon cutting “Grand Opening” for the bookstore and museum is very much happening at 6 pm on Friday, Nov. 6th, with State Rep. Herb Adams reading a State of Maine Proclamation, celebrating this as the world’s first cryptozoology museum.
But early on Sunday, I noticed an interesting thing began happening. People who had driven up from Boston and folks from Virginia had dropped by at 10 am, asking if they could give an advance donation for a spot in line to be first in the door. Those two groups came back at 11 am, and I gave them an advance, pre-noon tour of the museum space.
Then by 11:30 am, two guys had decided to sit near the front door to be first inside. A line was developing. What was this? A rock concert?
Before the day was over, upwards of 80 people had “stopped” by from Baltimore and Boston, Virginia and New Jersey, northern Maine and South Portland. This also included a visit from my son Malcolm who lives in South Boston, and my son Caleb who rearranged his hospice volunteer work so they could both surprise me, with their mom. It was a day filled with family, friends, fans, and folks from all over. I was overjoyed with the casual turnout of so many people, despite the “official” delay that was announced.
Indeed, there was a non-stop stream of people going through the museum, from noon to closing at five. Everyone got a personalized overview of the highlights of the contents. Some stayed an hour, others viewed what they wanted to see and left in shorter windows of time. Most visitors seemed to ask questions, and the majority of people wanted to take their photos with taxidermy artist Curtis Christensen’s Crookston Bigfoot, out front.
Michelle Souliere remained hard at work, with finishing preparations for The Green Hand.
Since The Green Hand Bookshop wasn’t open, I got yeoman’s service from docent coordinator Jeff Meuse who literally manned the front door, to steer traffic to the back exhibition space.
The Meuses were in cryptocommand throughout the day, and I would not have made it without them, for I was in the back all day, without a break.
So, how about some more pictures?
Without captions, here are some selected photos from the start of the day, taken as the door flew open and the afternoon unfolded.
All photos are © 2009 ~ International Cryptozoology Museum™ / taken by Jessica Meuse.
Read what others are saying about the ICM opening. Online mentions and critiques I’ve stumbled across include (to be expanded as I see more):
David Buscher’s “Cryptid Keeper” at his Upside Down Hippo blog gives an inside look.
Matt Bille’s Sci/Tech Blog has “Nothing like it in the world: Crypto Museum Opens.”
Red Pill Junkie, over at the Daily Grail, writes of the “Cryptozoology Museum: Open For Business.”
Meanwhile…
Online sales of the museum tee-shirts continue, and your donation support is greatly appreciated, especially during this kick-off time.
Please click on the button below (not the one up top) to take you to PayPal to send in your teeshirt order or your museum donation.
Thank you.
- Similar Phenomena:
Congratulations on the opening! I hope to visit when we get out that way.
Bon Voyage, Break a Leg, En Boca Lupo, Bon Chance, Bona Suerte and all that jazz, Loren…
This day has been a long time comin’, and we hope the ICM turns out to be everything you’ve dreamed of, and much more!
OKay, Portland and the Crypto World… Heeere’s Loren!
Good luck in a VERY worthwhile endevour!
Congratulations!
I will surely visit if it’s 9100 miles nearer to me
I just wrote a little story @ The Daily Grail, to let our members know of this historic occasion.
Felicidades Loren. Isn’t it true that the taste of success is all the more sweeter, when it takes more effort to reach it?
Good luck to Loren and company! I’ve posted this story and the T-shirt link on my own blog and every social media site that still lets me in….
“Photos from the opening of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, ME. Pride of place goes to a startlingly lifelike, life-size sasquatch sculpture, but the museum houses thousands of books and artifacts documenting the influence of cryptozoology on science and culture. There’s nothing like it, and there can’t be anything like it, given the many one-of-a-kind items stored here.
Support the Museum – buy a really cool T-shirt!”
Good luck, indeed, Loren!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!