GRAND LAKE STREAM – A range of artisans and a swing band are among the highlights of the 13th annual Grand Lake Stream Folk Art Festival.
The festival opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 28, and runs through Sunday.
“Over the years, the Grand Lake Stream Folk Art Festival has established its reputation as one of the premier gatherings in New England,” organizers said in a press release.
This year more than 50 artisans will gather under large white tents for one of the biggest folk festivals Down East. Items offered for sale include handmade musical instruments, twig furniture, quilts, folk painting, turned bowls, dried flowers and herbs, pottery, photography, stained glass, spinning, weaving, felting, clothing, wood carvings, jewelry and birdhouses, among other crafts.
Organizer Kathy Shamel guarantees great weather, although tents will be up in case the weather doesn’t cooperate.
More than 5,000 visitors streamed through the gates last year.
Last year was a poignant time for festival-goers after longtime artisan Gary Griffin – known locally as Griff – died in a motorcycle accident. This year, Sid Hughes of Lubec will handle the traditional iron works, while Eda and Dave Bentinnen of D& E Metalworks of Mercer will handle arts-and-crafts kinds of metalwork.
Shamel said if a larger area was available they could handle more artisans, but space is a consideration. The festival is located in an open field across from the Grand Lake Stream town office.
Once again, live music will be featured this year.
The festival will open with Mark Tipton and his swing band from New York. Singer-guitarist Jim Gallant also will perform. The Muellers and their family string band will play bluegrass, and Bill and Nancy Thibodeau, previous members of Bluegrass Supply and Union River, will perform bluegrass and country music with the Adrians.
An open jam session will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
The canoe tent will be back with craftspeople making everything from birch bark canoes to the square-ended Grand Laker. The University of Maine Folklife Center, in conjunction with the festival committee, will again present a retrospective display and panel discussions about canoe development in Grand Lake Stream.
Another popular site is the antique and heirloom quilt tent. Veteran quilt maker Louise Moore, 89, of Grand Lake Stream will have a quilt ready to be raffled, with proceeds to benefit the festival.
Maine Guides will prepare a dinner Friday night.
“It is up on the shore of Grand Lake, up by the dam, and they cook everything from fish chowder to guides’ coffee and all the guides’ wives make pies and gingerbread,” Shamel said.
Food is available throughout the festival. Admission is $5 for one day, $8 for both.
For information, contact the Grand Lake Stream Folk Art Festival Committee at 796-8199.
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