Approximately 400 people attended a celebration at the Boothbay Region YMCA on Sunday, March 29 to honor community plow and tow truck drivers and essential emergency road crews for helping get them through the tough, snowy winter of 2015.

The event, organized by Sue Burge and Nancy Van Dyke, was dubbed “I Survived the Winter of 2015.”

Sponsored by the YMCA and LincolnHealth, the gymnasium at the Y was set up with 24 tables filled with everything from helpful fliers and information from local organizations to pies, cake, popcorn and fruit platters.

There was a nail painting booth, a face painting booth, a massage chair booth, a hand massage booth, and others, all amidst tables full of homemade (donated) pies, 65 in all; and there were cookies and fruit — more than enough to serve the hungry crowd.

Attendees began arriving at 1 p.m., and just kept on coming to join in on the festivities. There was a zumba demonstration that welcomed anyone to join in; entertainment was provided by Ben Betts and Bri Harris of The Eyes & The Ears band, and The Praise Band at Boothbay Baptist Church.

Staff from LincolnHealth was on hand with a a blood pressure clinic, and information and tips for dealing with winter blues. The Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce had a booth offering information about the region.

Representatives from the Coast Guard, including Petty Officer Robinson, Petty Officer Gill, Fireman Harrison and Seaman Medley were there serving (and eating) pie, ice cream and whipped cream, and happily answering any questions attendees had about their rolls with the Coast Guard.

Coastal Maine Popcorn owners Julie and Paul Roberts were filling bags of their sweet and savory treats to any and all. There was a display of prom-style dresses from the organization “Dresses for Princesses.”

Other event booths included: 50/50 raffle; Boothbay Region Community Resources; Food For Thought; Wellness Foundation’s Awesome Seniors; Cultural Home Stay program; and Plant a Happy Seed with the folks from Community Garden Project at Rittall Farm. There were balloons courtesy of Hawke Motors, and a crazy hat contest.

Disc jockey Calvin Crocker was spinning tunes; Jonne Trees from Channel 7 was filming and Boothbay Harbor Police Officer Larry Brown was doing his best to keep all the sugar-infused kids under control.

Tom Dewey of Harbor-Tech Solutions served beverages, and Amy and Emmy Pinkham kept tabs on the pie tables.

At 1:30 p.m. the honorees were presented with certificates of appreciation and printed T-shirts. Then one of the biggest surprises of the day: a huge two and a half foot cake closely resembling one of the town plow trucks was wheeled out and presented to the drivers. Made by Boothbay’s own cake lady, Patricia Moroz of Starlight Custom Cakes, the truck cake was almost 100 percent edible, right down to the sugar paper license plates.

Moroz served slices of that along with three very large frosted sheet cakes. It was a sweet day!

The grand finale was a photo op outside featuring the plow and tow trucks, their drivers, emergency personnel, and all of the survivors of the winter of 2015 who attended the event, holding up “I Survived the Winter of 2015” signs provided by the Boothbay Register and Hammond Lumber.

Burge said her hope was that everyone “felt the love in a joyful reunion after the dreadful winter of 2015.”

“I am humbled and grateful and excited that we could bring something so special to the hearts of our community of people,” Burge said.