Since I used to live in Maine AND my two very close friends Karen & Eric call it home, I still have a soft spot for the Pine Tree State. Especially now, since I’m way down yonder in Tennessee! So I will gladly post any basketry events way up there! (Thanks Karen for the info!)
If you’re vacationing in Maine or live nearby, stop and check out the award winning 5th Annual Maine Native American Summer Market and Demonstration in New Gloucester.
This event blends two of Maine’s most unique and continuing traditions — that of the Maine Shakers and Maine’s four Native American tribes. Twenty artisans representing decades of tradition including master basketmakers, apprentices and multiple generations of family members will be featured.
Members of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac and Maliseet tribes will demonstrate traditional Wabanaki art forms including basketmaking, stone carving, bark etching, beadwork and jewelry.
You can also shop for hand-woven ash-splint and sweetgrass baskets, traditional etched birch bark vessels, stone sculptures, woodcarvings and cedar flutes. In addition, there will be performances of drumming, dancing and traditional Maine story-telling.
The event will be held Saturday, August 24th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, a National Historic Landmark in New Gloucester, Maine. It will be an enjoyable day and better yet, it’s free admission!
(photo courtesy of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village. Click here for more info.)