HOULTON, Maine — The streets of downtown Houlton will be alive with music and art on Saturday, Sept. 17, thanks to the efforts of a local couple.
Musicians from around the state, and as far away as Florida, will provide the musical backdrop for the inaugural Houlton Music and Arts festival, an event its promoters hope will become an annual occurrence. A section of Main Street will be closed to motor vehicles from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The festival is the brainchild of Dustin and Dani Hartnett, owners of UnContained Art at 84 Main St., who came up with the concept to help students interested in pursuing careers in music or art.
Hartin said the majority of the events taking place for the festival will be placed into a 501(c)3 non-profit account with yearly scholarships awarded to students attending Houlton and Hodgdon schools.
“Art scholarships really only cover about 40 percent of a student’s cost,” Dani Hartnett said. “There are no equivalent scholarships to help cover that gap, so we wanted to help with that.”
The festival kicks off at 11 a.m. with a color run in downtown Houlton. The cost is $15 to enter or $50 for a family of five. At various stations along the run/walk, participants will be doused in colorful, eco-friendly powder. A final explosion of color awaits runners as they cross the finish line.
From 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., a chalk art competition for children will take place, decorating the streets of downtown Houlton with colorful creations. Prizes will be awarded in various categories and the cost to participate is $5, with the proceeds going to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Starting at noon, a karaoke contest will be held for ages 12 and older, and starting at 1 p.m. live music begins from a stage erected on Mechanic Street. Local musicians Travis Cyr, Seth Thibodeau, Herding Unicorns, Charlie Duffield, Simon Pritchard and Bertand Lawrence will be joined by Among Friends, a Portland-based band, and John McDonald, a musician from Florida.
“This really is a passion project for Dani and Dustin,” said Kim Coker of Bastions Tavern. “They wanted to give our wonderful local artists a place to showcase their art and talent. They also wanted to create an event that will be fun for the whole community.”
The Hartins are originally from Philadelphia, but moved to the Houlton area 13 years ago to escape the hustle and bustle of life in a large city. The couple found that in the community of Ludlow and their shop in Houlton quickly became one of the area’s destinations for dining when it opened in November 2021.
“I was pregnant at the time and the city was getting really bad with constant drugs and violence,” Dani said. “My husband suggested moving to Maine and somehow he found a property, which we bought sight unseen. We went from nobody knowing who we were, to everybody knowing us.”
Hartnett said she drew inspiration for the festival after seeing how full the downtown can be during the annual Midnight Madness celebration around the Fourth of July.
“We will be full with bands from 1 to 9 p.m.,” Hartnett said. “We really wanted this to be comparable to Midnight Madness in terms of the amount of stuff you can do. We wanted tons of visual elements.”
In addition to music, there will be a variety of vendors and food booths set up throughout Main Street to provide a truly unique experience. Shiretown Gaming will have LARP (Live Action Role Playing) people dressed in costume and a line dancing group will perform.
A “live art battle” will take place starting at 5 p.m. with artists creating paintings on their interpretations of Houlton. A “splatter room” where people can purchase a canvas and throw paint at it will also be offered.
For information, or to sign up for any of the events, visit https://www.uncontainedcommunityarts.org/musicandartsfestival.
