Is there a way forward for a Portland winter carnival? [Video]

In November 2019, Shamrock Sports and Entertainment CEO Brian Corcoran was bullish on the prospects for a new winter festival in Portland, modeled after Quebec City’s famed Carnaval featuring parties, ice sculptures and outdoor sports.

“I think we can get to the point where this is a highly coveted, planned event for people across the world,” he told the Press Herald in advance of the inaugural festival, held for three days at the end of January 2020 on Portland’s Eastern Promenade.

After three iterations of Carnaval Maine — or Carnaval ME? It was never clear what we were supposed to call it — the latest of which drew about half the anticipated attendance, that’s not the direction it’s headed, to say the least. Last month, Corcoran admitted that a long-teased fourth event wasn’t happening this winter, though he said he hasn’t given up on the concept as a whole.

But is there a place for a winter carnival in Portland? If Carnaval Maine’s attempts …