Looking for a real Maine attraction?

Look no farther than the Bangor Opera House, where the Maine Arts Commission will celebrate the best of Maine’s arts scene beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Instead of a traditional awards ceremony, the commission will honor its 2008 grant and fellowship recipients with a variety show – a local folk festival of sorts.

“This is a celebration of what happens in Maine,” said Alden Wilson, the director of the arts commission. “We want to bring attention to the wonderful things going on in Maine. Each year we try to make it a more fun event.”

Since its inception in 1988, the fellowship program has recognized 134 artists with more than $525,000 in grant awards. On Thursday evening, the 2008 fellows – Molly Neptune Parker of Princeton, Sam Van Aken of Portland, Jeffrey Thomson of Farmington and Karen Montanaro of Casco – will share their award-winning skills.

But the festivities don’t end there. On Friday, during the commission’s meeting at the Black Bear Inn in Orono, Traditional Arts Master Awards recipients will present their art forms, which include fiddling, boat making and drumming. The event begins at 9 a.m. and is free and open to the public.

Thursday’s audiences will get a sneak preview with a fiddle demonstration by Greg Boardman of Auburn, one of the 2008 Traditional Arts Masters. Boardman honed his technique by studying with master fiddlers such as Otto Soper of Orland and Simon St. Pierre of Smyrna Mills, a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow.

Molly Neptune Parker, the 2008 Traditional Arts Fellowship Recipient, will follow with a basket-making demonstration. Parker is a Passamaquoddy tribal elder who learned her art from her mother and grandmother. Her work is on display at the Smithsonian Institute of National History in Washington, D.C., the Hudson Museum on the University of Maine campus and the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor.

Visual Arts Fellow Sam Van Aken will present his multifaceted work on the Opera House Stage. Van Aken, a former professor at the University of Maine, was an artist-in-residence this year at the Tacheles Art Center in Berlin, Germany. His work has been recognized with a solo show at Colby College as well as awards from the Association of International Critics of Art and the Dallas Video Art Festival.

A poetry reading by Literary Arts Fellow Jeffrey Thomson will follow. An assistant professor of creative writing at UM-Farmington, Thomson has written several books, including “The Country of Lost Sons,” “Renovation” and “Blind Desire.”

Karen Montanaro, the renowned mime who wowed young audiences at this summer’s American Folk Festival, will present the world premiere of “The Struggle to Be,” a performance that combines mime with dance. Montanaro studied with the Joffrey Ballet and is principal dancer with the Portland Ballet Company.

Friday’s lineup includes presentations by Penobscot elder and master drummer and singer Watie Atkins of Brewer and his apprentice, James E. Neptune; fiddle demonstrations by Donald Roy of Gorham and his apprentice, Matthew Lamare, as well as Greg Boardman of Auburn and his apprentice, Jasmine Chick. John Connors of Madawaska and Dave Wylie of St. David will show off their boat-making skills with their apprentice Chase Jackson.

“We’re trying to make this a real performance,” Wilson said of both days’ events. “Not only do they get a check, but public recognition of their work.”

Both events are free and open to the public. The Bangor Opera House is located at 131 Main St. in Bangor. The Black Bear Inn is located at 4 Godfrey Drive in Orono. For information, contact Darrell Bulmer at the Maine Arts Commission, 800-887-3878.