The 3rd Annual Art of Ellsworth: Maine Craft Weekend (October 5-6, 2019) is being held in conjunction with Maine Crafts Association statewide celebration of craft and American Craft Week. Ellsworth will once again be at the forefront as a Featured City and will be promoted as a destination for cultural activities in Downeast Maine. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to visit three craft hubs at Atlantic Art Glass @ 25 Pine Street, SevenArts @ 192 Main Street and a new offering this year; a Community Craft Hub @ 142 Main Street. 

Atlantic Art Glass @ 25 Pine Street: Ken and Linda Perrin will demonstrate their glassblowing craft to the public, while creating a hub of fine arts activities. Along with the pottery, weaving, and jewelry demonstrations you can watch the Atlantic Art Glass team create blown glass pumpkins. The studio of Atlantic Art Glass will be turned into a “glass pumpkin patch” as the molten glass is pulled from the furnace, blown and hand formed on the end of a blowpipe. The glass pumpkin patch is for visitors of all ages.

SevenArts @ 192 Main Street: In addition to their vast selection of handmade work for sale, this local artisan gallery will offer workshops – Gold leafing with Wendilee Heath O’Brien is Sat. October 5 from 1-3pm and on Sun. October 6 from 10am-3pm Anna Pazereckas will teach adults and children how to sew their own headband. There is a $5 fee for materials.

Community Craft Hub @ 142 Main Street: New in 2019,this hub will offer demos in metal, clay, fiber and wood. Additionally, a craft show willoffer a marketplace to purchase handmade work, while an open makerspace will provide a place for community members to work on unfinished projects and learn new techniques from each other. This hub is made possible with a generous grant from the Belvedere Traditional Handcraft Fund via the Maine Community Foundation.

Heidi Stanton-Drew, of The Artful Aide and Chair of Heart of Ellsworth’s Cultural Committee says, “We are incredibly excited to add a Community Craft Hub to the event’s offerings this year. The hub will be a vibrant space on Main Street filled with opportunities to learn about processes, purchase handmade work and get hands-on experience from fellow community members.”  She continued, “These experiences are sure to forge new connections and spark interest in the value of handmade in our lives.”

In addition to the three craft hubs, Fogtown Brewing Company will also be a hub of activity offering live music with their 2019 Musicians in Residence, Shirt Tail Kin at 7pm Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5. Pottery demos, a brewery tour and a songwriter’s workshop are all on tap for Saturday, October 5.

 Art of Ellsworth: Maine Craft Weekend is an event celebrating the creative community in Ellsworth. Participants include galleries, artists, retail shops, eateries, breweries and non-profits in the urban core, offering studio tours, sales, artist demonstrations, live music, and a community craft show. 

Full event calendar is available at: heartofellsworth.org. For more information, please email: cara@heartofellsworth.org.