Schoodic Art Festival to return

GOULDSBORO – Art is in the air on the Schoodic Peninsula as the Schoodic Arts Festival gears up for its second season. The festival runs from July 31 through Aug. 13.

The idea for the festival began in 1998 as a grass-roots effort to bring arts performances to the Schoodic area in eastern Hancock County.

“There’s not a lot of arts programs down here,” Alison Johnson, director of Schoodic Arts for All based in the Gouldsboro village of Prospect Harbor, said. “You can go to Ellsworth or Bar Harbor, but there’s nothing specific to the peninsula. But there’s so much creative talent in the area to draw from. It was just a question of doing it.”

After a year of planning, and with grant funding from the Maine Community Foundation, the initiative resulted in the first Schoodic Arts Festival last year, as well as a year-round program that includes the Last Friday Coffee House held at the Prospect Harbor Women’s Club.

In its first year, some 285 people participated in the 40 courses and workshops offered during the two-week run while others took advantage of the free performances offered during the day and in the evening. This year, the program has been expanded to include 63 courses in dance, music, visual arts, writing, crafts and theater arts, taught by local and visiting artists, and also free performances on most nights during the two weeks.

“We tried to respond to the evaluations we received, and to their recommendations of what they wanted more of,” Johnson said.

Each area offers a wide variety of topics to choose from. Courses in music, for instance, range from penny whistle and Passamaquoddy songs to blues and boogie-woogie. Classes in dance vary from instruction in Highland dance and Cape Breton step dancing to the “Creative Power of Dance.” Each course costs $5 per hour, which is a very reasonable rate, according to Johnson.

“Our goal is to keep it affordable for the people in the area,” she said.

With help from the Haymarket People’s Fund in Boston and the New Century Program, a joint effort of the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Humanities Council, as well as local donations, the festival offers scholarships, a total of $2,000 this year, for those with limited funds. There are still scholarships available for this year, Johnson said.

The festival includes a Brown Bag Lunch Performing series, where festival-goers can either bring their own lunch or purchase one at the festival. The performances begin at noon at the tent outside the Prospect Harbor Women’s Club and this year will feature a variety of performers, from Steuben resident Ruby Gensheimer to African drums, rock music, bluegrass and native flute music.

The free evening performances also have been expanded this year and will be offered on most nights during the festival. The performances include bluegrass, violin, a women’s choir, a poetry slam, a magic show, storytelling, and Scottish pipes and drums. The festival will conclude with performances by students and an art show featuring student works created during the workshops. An art show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 6 will feature the works of Maine artists.

Most of the festival activities take place within walking distance of the women’s club, with the exception of one dance workshop. That workshop will be held in Winter Harbor.

For more information about the festival, its courses or performances, contact Alison Johnson at 963-4147.