Phish Out of Water August 5, 2003 - Portland Press Herald By Matt Wickenheiser Despite their aquatic name, Phish-heads apparently don't like getting wet, if local rainwear sales are any indication. As tens of thousands of fans of the band Phish headed north to Limestone and the former Loring Air Force Base last Friday for a weekend concert, dark skies and heavy rainfall apparently prompted many to stop at stores selling outdoor gear to buy slickers, ponchos, rain pants and boots. "A lot of products that deal with the inclement weather had done extremely, extremely well with us," said Kevin Adams, president of the Kittery Trading Post. "Also camping-type products and footwear - boots in particular. "We know there was a lot of Phish-goers in particular; you can tell by the age group that comes through," he said. "We're the gateway into the state, and we were on the (Phish) Web site as one of the roadside stops." The extra sales are just a piece of the $25 million impact that the concert was expected to have statewide. Other weekend events helped drive demand for rain gear. The Maine Lobster Festival expected up to 100,000 attendees, and more than 10,000 spectators were predicted at the Beach to Beacon 10K race in Cape Elizabeth. More than a few of the visitors stopped at Freeport stores and outlets to ensure a dry weekend. "It was indeed an incredibly busy weekend in Freeport this weekend. Traffic was way up, and we recognize that folks heading up to the Phish concert and the lobster festival added to the crowds," said Mary Rose MacKinnon, an L.L. Bean spokeswoman. "We knew the forecast was going to be cloudy with showers, and we stocked up and staffed up. Customers were buying rainwear as well as everything else in the store. We did have a good run on rainwear." MacKinnon said Bean restocked continually to keep on top of demand. Freeport's most famous store wasn't alone. "We did seem to get more of the older lobster-festival types," said John Mathieu, manager at The Patagonia Outlet. "Freeport was hopping. People were coming up and they were stopping at Freeport." Patagonia's wet-weather gear may be slightly out of the price range of Phish's younger fans - prices ranging from $138 up to more than $200 - but the store sold "our share of rain gear," Mathieu said. Overall sales for the weekend were up 40 percent over the same weekend in 2002, he said. Adams, of Kittery Trading Post, said he expected from past experience that many Phish-heads would also be stopping for souvenirs as they leave Maine. "It happens on the way out also," Adams said Monday afternoon. "As I peer out the window, Route 1 is backed up north and south. This time of year it's pretty typical when it's an overcast day." Copyright © 2003 Portland Press Herald