The Ossipee Valley Music Festival and the Ossipee Valley String Camp are both presented by our 501c3 nonprofit, the North Atlantic Arts Alliance, based in rural Hiram, Maine. Our mission is to enrich our rural Maine communities by supporting arts performance and education, as well as the values of community, equity, and sustainability. Jump to contact us here.
The Alliance is invested in the long term vitality of rural Maine, and sees access to arts programming and education, especially music, as a keystone to community building. We value both the community created within our events, and the rural community we are based in. We value equitable access to our programming and representation within it. We value our earth: our rural fairgrounds and woodland campus, the clean water we swim in, the pine sharp air of Maine. We appreciate how creating and hearing music within a natural setting creates a magical experience. We understand our role as land stewards in our production of mass gatherings, and that we must take responsibility for the kind of energy and waste generation that creates. We work to ensure our programming and these grounds will sustain and inspire for generations to come. We do this with your help.
The below initiatives are the current projects we are working on, and demonstrate our priorities. The Alliance works with foundations, government programs, private donors, and business sponsors. If you would like to inquire about a sponsorship package or tax deductible donation, please use the contact form below for more information.
The Roots and Sprouts Program
During the Ossipee Valley Music Festival, the Roots and Sprouts Program is a free 3 day camp for ages 7-12. The camp hosts all levels, but is especially good for beginner or shy students who are curious about music. The program provides loner instruments to those who don't have one yet, and the students perform at the very end of the festival.
The North Atlantic Arts Alliance is currently accepting donations of working, tuneable instruments such as fiddles, guitars, and ukeleles, as well as 1/4 or 1/2 size bass.
free access to the Ossipee Valley String Camp Program
The Ossipee Valley String Camp is a multigenerational community gathering for musicians and students that takes place the week before the Ossipee Valley Music Festival.
Spots are limited to 135 students to keep the intimate and approachable feeling of the camp intact, and 25% of those seats are held for free access students of all ages on a needs basis. These seats include meals! We can also provide scholarship discounts if someone is in need. These seats account for up to $15,000 per year in removed revenues.
The North Atlantic Arts Alliance funds these scholarship seats, as well as the purchase of local farm food for the meals program, through a combination of private benefactors and grants. If you would like to pledge to support the ongoing scholarship fund please contact us below.
The Alliance is currently working on improving access for our local community members to string camp. We have engaged Youth Counselors to act as a guide for day students at camp, and we are working on the establishment of year-round jump-start programs that can function as an 'on ramp' for students who may need a year or two of support (including instruments) prior to applying to the string camp, which requires a basic prior foundation in music for all students.
Accessibility to the arts for all
The Ossipee Valley Music Festival sells out each year, so ensuring equitable access to the incredible workshops, performances, and community that it provides is very important to the Alliance. Through its business partnership program and grant partnerships, it is able to provide free and discounted tickets to key groups. These tickets account for over an estimated near $150,000 in removed revenue each year, and we cannot achieve this without the support of our partners.
-Free tickets for ages 17 and under (most festivals 12 and under)
-Free overnight tent camping and parking included with all tickets (most festivals extra)
-Free access for residents who live within 15 miles to our Sunday, Maine Day, show, and coupons in the local paper that reduce ticket prices by up to 60%!
-After dark tickets which provide a low barrier of access to attendance to get a 'taste' (7 hours of performances!)
--We are currently working towards providing sliding-scale tickets for other groups who may need support in attending the event, including a soon to be available Roots and Sprouts Chaperone ticket.
If you are a business that would like to support accessibility to the arts via a sponsorship package, please get in touch!
Farm to Table Food & Sustainability
While agriculture is not directly part of our mission, The North Atlantic Arts Alliance is aligned with farmers, and purchases a majority of ingredients for Ossipee Valley String Camp meals from local farms. Additionally food vendors at the Ossipee Valley Music Festival are encouraged to use local ingredients and the Alliance continues to work to make this process seamless.
Now that we have a new showerhouse with outdoor sinks for dishwashing, we are working on incentives for BYO glass/plateware to eliminate single use items at the camp and eventually the festival!
Stay tuned for the publication of our five year climate response plan, which outlines concerns and action steps regarding the sustainability of our events in the face of climate change.
Showcase performances
We are proud to host special showcases at the beginning and end of the festival, as well as throughout the year. These showcases feature special groups of artists and artisans of multiple disciplines and expose them to welcoming and large audiences in intimate settings. Part of our commitment to equity includes equitable representation of diverse voices in the arts. In 2023 we are proud to present the following showcases:
-Maine Artists: Sunday July 30th (at the festival)
-Emerging Artists of Color (2023 performances curated by Yasmin Williams)
-Emerging & Regional Artists: Stage Too! Our annual two day showcase of up and coming artists, primarily from the North East, Friday July 28th-Saturday July 29th (at the festival)
-World Artists in America: In 2022 we presented Dakha Brakha, a Ukrainian folk band currently traveling the world in support of the Ukrainian people. We raised funds for Ukraine through the sale of tickets as well as a special Ukranian beer donated by Oxbow Brewery. This showcase was presented at the end of the festival. In 2023 we supported a showcase of Larry & Joe, artists who fuse traditional Venezuelan and Appalachian folk musics in a masterful interpretation of story and sound. This showcase occurred offsite in June 2023.
Other projects
Stay tuned for the publication of news about Crooked River Arts Initiatives, our expansion using our newfound riverfront expansion adjacent to the Ossipee Valley Fairgrounds!
We have some exciting new projects coming down the line and we can't wait to share them with you!
Get In Touch...
Contact our Director of Financial Giving to learn more about opportunities to support North Atlantic Arts and The Ossipee Valley Music Festival & String Camp! Use the contact form below, or email info@ossipeevalley.com
