WILLOW CREEK — The town of Willow Creek unveiled its first official branding logo Thursday evening at a ceremony on the Thorne’s Bend landing, marking the culmination of a yearlong community design process aimed at giving the town a cohesive identity for tourism and economic development.
The logo — a stylized pine tree and river current rendered in forest green and river blue — sits beneath the tagline “Where the River Meets the Pines.” It will appear on town signage, the municipal website, welcome kiosks, and promotional materials distributed by the Aroostook County Tourism Council.
The design was selected from three options presented by the Portland firm North Star Creative, which conducted community workshops and a town-wide survey that drew 240 responses. More than 60 percent of survey respondents chose the winning design.
“I think it captures what we are,” said Selectwoman Eleanor Vance, who chaired the branding committee. “We’re a place where the working landscape — the river, the woods, the mills — isn’t just scenery. It’s who we are.”
The branding project cost $14,000, funded by a grant from the USDA Rural Development program. Merchandise including T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers bearing the new logo will be available at the General Store and Northwoods Outfitters starting next week.