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V O L . X X I X N O. X I I I J U N E 1 2 , 2 0 2 3 12 L E W I S T O N / A U B U R N / W E S T E R N M A I N E F O C U S Burgundar Harrison Gneiss Spice Bethel Ripple Retreat West Paris 24/7 Defense Training Turner Black Diamond Detailing Lewiston 5 SMALL BUSINESSES IN WESTERN MAINE To create a futuristic flair, this weekend's game runner plans to string brightly colored lights around the buildings — many of which are made from white pine — and use black light to play off charac- ters' costumes "so that it looks weird and different," according to Sirois. "Ultimately," he says, "we're aiming for a kind of a Scandinavian aesthetic." Such is the immersive world of scripted-meets- improvisational make-believe at Burgundar, which charges $175 to $750 for LARP game rentals and a flat rate of $1,000 for weddings. With 25 bookings so far this year, 12 weekends were still available as of early June. Burgundar is one of several unique small busi- nesses in western Maine, which SCORE mentor Ted Hatch attributes to the people. "e communities in western Maine," he says, "have been supportive of these new startups, and the entrepreneurs have been especially effective with their outreach." He has observed that firsthand with Sirois and Andrews, part of a group that took over management of Burgundar in 2019 from founder Noah Hersom, who still owns the land. Along similar lines, SCORE Maine District Director Steve Veazey attributes the region's startup appeal partly to its attraction as a place to live. Doug Andrews, left, and Dylan Sirois joust for fun at Burgundar, a make-believe village in rural Harrison for live action role-playing games. Andrews is chief operations officer, while Sirois chairs the buildings and grounds committee. P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R B am! Pow! Whoosh! Like modern-day super- heroes, two men are jousting with weapons that look dangerously real on the front porch of a wooden building in rural Harrison. We're in Burgundar, an 11-acre swampy forest and make-believe village that aims to be the "perfect place for the imagination to run wild." e site, whose Medieval-style central square includes a tower, outdoor fire pit and rounded apoth- ecary hut for witches, is rented out to live-action role-playing games, or LARPs. A six-member board of directors owns and manages the business. After dark, solar power illuminates the buildings, which have kerosene heat for colder nights. Games, which have ratings similar to mov- ies, cover themes from the post-apocalyptic to cyberpunk and science fiction, and usually take place over the course of an entire weekend on the grounds of business set up as a low-profit limited liability company, or L3C. e designation allows Burgundar as an entity serving a community pur- pose to accept volunteer work and donations as a nonprofit would, but with legal protections similar to a limited liability corporation. For today's impromptu demo, board members Doug Andrews and Dylan Sirois are wielding padded, lightweight boffer props used to simulate combat in games set at Burgundar. is weekend it will be Star Hunter II, a PG-13 sci-fi/cyberpunk scenario that Andrews describes as a "mash-up of 'Star Wars' and other 70s-era sci-fi films and cow- boy westerns." From Lewiston to rural areas, western Maine abounds with unique small businesses B y R e n e e C o r d e s

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