Old Hallowell Day
Hallowell is hosts many festivals throughout its year. Old Hallowell Day is the big annual festival that happens every year in mid July.
October Fest, Festival of Scarecrows, Mardis Gras, Zombie Crawl every Hallowe’en, some come here for a few years and move on—the Luthier Festival, Granite Symposium—and some are seemingly permanent fixtures in our calendar, like the grand Old Hallowell Day and the Rock on the River with 30+ summers of music and counting.
This is Maggie Warren #40, with her parasol. I needed a bit of color in front of the big granite head. At the 2019 Hallowell Woodstock Revival I sketched Maggie with her tie dyed dress and parasol and k new she was the perfect bit of color to be sitting up on the scaffolding in front of the Faith Statue. Maggie was at the original Woodstock Festival in NY.
artist, Chris Cart
Woodstock Revival
Hallowell Board of Trade hosted a Hallowell Woodstock Revival for several years with bands playing live music played at the original woodstock. Hallowell boasts several people who were at the original Woodstock Festival, including Maggie Warren.
Hallowell Hexen
You may have noticed the witch in the mural. That is the artist’s wife Jen Greta Cart #67, who started the Hallowell Hexen Dancers, a raucous gathering of Hallowe’en Hallowell witches who dance down the street every All Hallow’s Eve toward the big bonfire.
It was hard to decide how to include Jen in the mural. She is an artist, avid dancer, actor in local theater and she started the witch dancers at Hallowe’en. She finally ended up as a graceful witch, brushes in hand casting a spell on us all.
artist, Chris Cart
Zombie Crawl
Bruce Mayo #101, is shown in the mural in two of his many guises, as the super talented artist he is and in one of his elaborate and always elegant costumes as he leads the annual Mardi Gras parade to launch the festivities. He is also a prominent figure in organizing and participating in Hallowell’s annual Halloween Zombie Crawl and June Pride Parades. His talent can be seen all over his Easy Street Lounge.
indispensable volunteers
Cary Colwell #91, is one of Hallowell’s steadfast committee volunteers who make all the fabulous festivals and events happen. She has been instrumental in many Old Hallowell Day festivals, Mardi Gras bashes, weekly music events and so much more.
And without Deb Fahy #108, we simply wouldn’t have the arts that we do in town. She does so much.
Granite Symposium
Hallowell is known for its granite and the stone carvers who worked here in the 19th, creating stone sculptures and ornaments for notable buildings around the country.
September 11-19, 2021 Hallowell celebrated that granite history with a 7 day Granite Symposium–7 artists spent 7 days carving many sculptures to show what can be done with stone. This was a joint project of the city of Hallowell’s Arts and Cultural Committee, Vision Hallowell and the Maine Stone Workers Guild.
Two of the created sculptures are now permanently installed on the Hallowell waterfront—“Bloom” by Isabel Kelly and “Flowing Through” by Mark Herrington.
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