Festival to pay tribute to late artist Grand Lake Stream to keep Gary ‘Griff’ Griffith’s booth as memorial

GRAND LAKE STREAM – The spirit of a craftsman and friend who died last month will be part of the 12th annual Grand Lake Stream Folk Art Festival.

Although iron forge artist Gary “Griff” Griffith, with his flowing white beard and long white hair, won’t be there, the familiar booth he had at the end of the first row of tents each year will be as a memorial to him.

Griffith, 55, of Guilford and Parkman, died last month in a motorcycle accident.

More than 300 people attended his funeral.

On his Web site, www.irongartforge.com, is a quote by Emerson that captured Griffith’s spirit: “Nothing is ever wholly lost. That which is excellent remains forever a part of this universe.”

Cathy Shamel, who along with her dedicated crew of volunteers each year plans the festival, said it would be a nostalgic moment for fellow artisans as well as regular visitors to the fair. She said there will be pictures of Griff and there will be a place for people to write their thoughts and make a donation to “Griff’s Iron Art Scholarship Fund” in care care of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Shamel said that Griffith, with tattoos on nearly every part of his chest and arms, brought real color to the show.

“My favorite [remembrance] in my mind of Griff was at the contradance last year. There were eight people in a row going down in the line and the music was playing. Of course, he’s towering over everybody, he’s right in the middle. He was just like the pied piper; he was just sweeping them down,” she said. “This gigantic … person … he was dancing up a storm.”

The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30. Admission is $5 for one day, $8 for both days.

More than a decade ago, a group of women got together to plan a festival for their little resort community.

Now that festival has grown into one of the premier events in the state, attracting folk artists, craftspeople, canoe builders, boat builders, quilters and musicians from all over the northeastern United States and New Brunswick.

Fifty-one folk artists and craftspeople will be on hand with their collectible folk art and functional handcrafts. There will be new exhibits, too, including jewelry and pottery artisans. Many of the regular exhibitors will be back.

There will be a variety of demonstrations. Paula Farrar of Done Roving Farms in Charlotte will demonstrate spinning and needle felting. There also will be classes that will include rug hooking, pottery and carving, among others.

And this year there is a really different addition – a retrospective of canoe building in this small community.

The Grand Lake Stream canoe, with its high bow and wide stern, is respected worldwide. One of the early builders of the flat stern canoe was GLS canoe maker Pop Moore. The event is put on by the Maine Folk Life Center from the University of Maine at Orono. “It’s part of their project to identify boats and canoes indigenous to Maine,” Bill Shamel said.

There will be antique outboard motors and paddles. The outboard motors are from a collection owned by David Townsend of Calais.

“There will be canoes from every builder that ever built one there. Some of them will have family members there,” he said.

Of course, there will be plenty of music again this near. New this year are the Muellers of Waterville, who specialize in bluegrass music. They will join the list of regular entertainers that includes Randy Spencer, Black Sox Band and Jim Gallant. And there will be the Sunday morning jam when anyone with an instrument can participate.

“It’s going to be a good show. It’s going to be a little sad, but good also. We’re going to have lots of demonstrations,” Cathy Shamel said.

The Shamels guarantee great weather.