DAWNLAND FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS
Experience One of Maine’s Best Cultural Events

Save the Date! July 12-13, 2025, at College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine

The Abbe Museum’s Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas returns on July 12-13, 2025, at the College of the Atlantic (COA) in Bar Harbor, Maine. This annual celebration showcases Wabanaki art, music, and culture, bringing together Indigenous artists, performers, and storytellers in an immersive two-day experience.

“Native arts and cultures cannot be separated from Native ways of knowing. The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas continues to celebrate the Native creative economy on Wabanaki homelands while lifting up Indigenous thought leadership vital to the conversation on a healthy planet and society for us all.”

Betsy Richards (Cherokee), Executive Director & Senior Partner with Wabanaki Nations

Steps from Acadia National Park’s entrance, this outdoor summer festival in Maine invites you to browse a arts market with over 50 talented Indigenous artisans, enjoy live music and performances celebrating Native traditions, and engage in workshops and discussions by Wabanaki and other Indigenous leaders about climate change, food sovereignty, and the power of storytelling.

REGISTER

Early bird registrations (before June 1, 2025) will be entered into a drawing for a season pass to the Abbe Museum and a gift certificate to the Abbe Museum Store. The grand prize winner will be announced on June 2, 2025.

Assistance with registration is available by calling Abbe Museum at (207) 288-3519 or emailing info@abbemusuem.org.

The festival is free and open to the public. 

2025 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE & MAP

Whether visiting Bar Harbor for a weekend getaway or looking for unique cultural festivals and events in Maine, Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas 2025 is a must-attend multi-day event!

SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2025
College of the Atlantic | Bar Harbor, Maine

  • 9:00 am — Market Opens

  • 10:00am - 10:30am — Market Performance: Hawk Henries (Nipmuc)

  • 11:00 - 11:30 am — Market Performance: Jennifer Pictou (Mi’kmaq Nation)

  • Noon — Food Trucks

  • 1:00 -1:45 pm — Featured Performance: Ty Defoe (Ojibwe + Oneida Nations)

  • 2:30 - 3:20 pm — Panel  #1: Native Arts, Culture, & Technology

    • Ty Defoe (Ojibwe + Oneida Nations)

    • Emma Hassencahl-Perley (Wolastoqey)

    • Dwayne Tomah (Passamaquoddy Nation)

  • 4:00 - 4:50 pm — Panel #2: Wabanaki Forest Futures

    • Tyler Everett (Mi’kmaq Nation)

    • Chuck Loring (Penobscot Nation)

    • Richard Silliboy (Mi’kmaq Nation)

  • 5:00 pm — Festival Close

SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2025
College of the Atlantic | Bar Harbor, Maine

  • 9:00 am — Market Opens 

  • 10:00 am to 10:30 am — Market Performance: Minquansis Sapiel (Passamaquoddy)

  • 11:00 - 11:30 pm — Market Performance: David Sanipass (Mi’kmaq Nation)

  • Noon — Food Trucks

  • 1:00 - 1:45 pm — Featured Performance: Cipelahq ehpicik - Thunderbird Women (Wabanaki)

  • 2:30 - 3:20 pm — Panel #3: Centering Wabanaki Voices in America’s 250th

    • Zeke Crofton-MacDonald (Houlton Band of Maliseet)

    • James Francis (Penobscot Nation)

    • Siera Hyte (Cherokee)

  • 4:00 - 4:50 pm — Panel #4: Indigenous Farm to Table

    • Cassius Spears (Narragansett)

    • Dawn Spears (Narragansett)

    • Anthony Sutton (Passamaquoddy Nation)

    • Jasmine Thompson-Tintor (Penobscot Nation)

  • 5:00 pm — Festival Close

 

A LOOK BACK! DAWNLAND FESTIVAL 2024

 
 
 

FESTIVAL PRESS & TOOLKIT

OFFICIAL 2025 PRESS RELEASE (PDF - DOWNLOAD HERE)

Additional materials coming soon.

Need a file? Contact Jessica at Nimble Pixel Studio at Jessica@NimblePixelStudio.com.

THE DAWNLAND FESTIVAL IS ORGANIZED BY THE ABBE MUSEUM

The Abbe’s mission is to illuminate and advance greater understanding of and support for Wabanaki Nations’ heritage, living cultures, and homelands. At the core of our work are decolonizing museum practices, including: collaboration with Tribal communities; privileging Native perspectives, voice, and values; a focus on dialogue; inclusion of the full measure of history; and ensuring truth-telling. This is also reflected in the Museum’s governance structure that includes a Wabanaki-majority Board and a Tribally-appointed Advisory Council, resulting in a tremendous institutional power shift. This commitment allows the museum to amplify the art, cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of Wabanaki peoples in ways that serve Tribal communities and activate audiences. Through the Wabanaki Council and community consultation, we work with Wabanaki Tribal Nations to share authority for the interpretation of their living cultures and history, privileging Native voice. 

The Abbe was founded in 1928 as a small trailside museum at Sieur de Monts Spring in Lafayette National Park (today Acadia National Park) with a focus on the archaeology of the Wabanaki Nations. The Abbe soon expanded its scope to include Wabanaki material culture and now features a substantial contemporary art collection. In 2001, the Museum expanded to the downtown Bar Harbor location, creating a 17,000-square-foot museum with spacious exhibition galleries, a research lab, and state-of-the-art collections storage. In 2013, the Abbe Museum became the only Smithsonian Affiliate in Maine and contributes to global conversations through work with the International Coalition for the Sites of Conscience. Learn More | Support

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