Artists, crafters to gather Grand Lake Stream to hold annual Folk Art Festival

GRAND LAKE STREAM – The community that is home to one of Maine’s premier landlocked-salmon fishing areas is also known for its annual Folk Art Festival.

Set in one of the most pristine and picturesque wilderness parts of the Northeast, Grand Lake Stream is famous for its fishing and unspoiled character. It is also noted for the folk artists and craftsmen who will gather there this weekend to show off traditional and contemporary folk art and crafts in a variety of mediums. The event begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and runs through Sunday.

Started seven years ago, the festival is a community effort in conjunction with the Grand Lake Stream Chamber of Commerce. The all-volunteer festival committee is responsible for planning the two-day event. “It just has a life of its own,” said organizer Cathy Shamel.

New this year will be a visit by representatives of the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City. “This is a big deal for us,” Shamel continued, saying museum officials contacted her this year. “They will be walking around and looking at people’s work and of course they buy for their gift shops.”

In staging the annual festival, Shamel said organizers have strived to be mindful of the environment.

“We’ve tried very hard not to have anything like Styrofoam and things like that,” she said. “We decided to build a reputation of quality … and I think that has worked very well.”

During the juried show, more than 50 recognized folk artists and craftspeople will be on hand to display their products and offer demonstrations, including iron forging, pottery, weaving, spinning, rug making, moccasin making and quilting. She said the festival had a long waiting list of people who would like to participate in the show.

The legendary Grand Lake Stream flat-stern canoes will be featured at the event. They will share center stage with handmade canoes by builders from throughout the Northeast and Canada. There also will be canoe building demonstrations as well as a display of restored antique and vintage canoes. Sailing canoes will also be on view this year.

But it’s the artists, who come from as near as neighboring Princeton and as far away as Wooster, Ohio, who attract the largest crowds. The Grand Lake Stream festival is unique in that artists’ booths are arranged to give the festival-goer the feeling they are stepping into an art gallery.

Another major attraction will be the quilt show. An exhibit of antique and heirloom quilts, some dating back to the Civil War, also will be on display. Expert quilters will be on hand to answer questions and give advice.

Accompanying the celebration will be plenty of foot stomping folk and bluegrass music. Grand Lake Stream’s own Randy Spencer, who immortalized Maine’s public enemy No. 1 with his hit song, “Blackflies,” will perform.

Also on hand will be eastern Maine’s own Black Socks String Band. The group’s instruments include the hammer dulcimer, guitar, banjo, fiddle, button accordion and uilleann bagpipes. They’ll play jigs, reels, polkas and waltzes with an Irish twist.

“No matter what your interest is, it’s a well-rounded show from the canoe building … to the artwork itself. I think the music has been a big contributor,” Shamel said.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided by the St. Croix Regional Family Health Center. Proceeds will go to the health clinic in Princeton. The Woodland Band Boosters in Baileyville will be selling snacks and cold drinks.

On both festival days, Jim Parker of Farmington, an ornithologist who will be bringing several birds, will entertain children and adults.

Dogs on leashes are welcome.

The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per day or $7.50 for both days. To reach Grand Lake Stream from the south take I-95 north to Exit 55 (Lincoln). Follow Route 6 east to U.S. Route 1 in Topsfield. Take U.S. Route 1 south for 13 miles and turn right on the Grand Lake Stream Road. From the Maritimes, cross at Calais and take U.S. Route 1 north 22 miles to the Grand Lake Stream Road and turn left. For more information, call 796-8199.