BELFAST — The Belfast Regional Job Fair, hosted by Belfast’s Hutchinson Center March 7, where approximately 400 participants mingled with 45 area employers.

The event, which took several months to plan, was created with cooperation between multiple local organizations, including Workforce Solutions, the Maine Department of Labor, the Belfast Creative Coalition, the Belfast Arts Coalition, and the Belfast Chamber of Congress.

According to one member of the organizing team, there was no difficulty finding local employers interested in participating in the event.

“We actually couldn’t accommodate all of the employers that wanted to be here,” said Khristina Landers, of Workforce Solutions.

Even the hallway leading to the conference room was lined with people, most working on applications, others awaiting interviews.

Landers said the limited conference room space was filled on a first come, first serve basis.

It was a space filled with excited chatter and laughter as participants made their way around the loop, lined on either side with table displays from the dozens of employers on site.

A handful of the employers present, including Bank of America, Matthews Brothers, and Penobscot McCrum offered on site interviews to potential new employees.

There were a number of professional fields represented at the job fair, including: hospitality, social services, banking, sales, automotive repair, customer service, maintenance, and emergency dispatch, among others.

Some of organizations present at the event included: Front Street Shipyard, Waldo County Communications, Hamilton Marine, Robbins Lumber, Viking Lumber, Knox Machine Co., Ironwood, State Sand and Gravel, Penobscot McCrum, Pathways of Maine, Colonial Theater, Belfast Co-op, and Ducktrap River among others.

In addition to employment opportunities, the job fair also had five different service providers on hand to offer assistance and resources to job seekers in need. These services included those offered by the Maine Department of Labor and Workforce Solutions.

With over 45 employers connected with hundreds of potential employees, the event more than fulfilled the original hopes of organizers.

Though the job fair was heavily promoted, organizers were still “pleasantly surprised,” by the turnout, according to Landers.

With so many employment opportunities condensed into such a small space, it was unsurprising that many participants worked up an appetite during the event.

For those in need of a break and refueling during the day, Chef On the Run, a local food truck, was stationed near the entrance.

It was a day that left people with not only full hopes, but also full stomachs.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com