Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas Returns July 11-12, 2026

Abbe Museum’s Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas
Returns July 11-12, 2026

In collaboration with Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals 

BAR HARBOR, Maine - The Abbe Museum’s Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas will return July 11-12, 2026, hosted on the campus of College of the Atlantic, continuing its tradition as a multi-day summer festival that centers Wabanaki and Native thought leadership through panels, performances, and a Northeastern Native arts market. 

This year’s Dawnland festival also marks a new moment of national connection through a collaboration with The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s 2026 Of the People: Smithsonian Festival of Festivals. 

“This collaboration places the Abbe Museum’s Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas within a broader national conversation about ongoing cultural practice, while remaining grounded in Wabanaki leadership and place-based knowledge,” stated Betsy Richards, executive director at the Abbe Museum. “Being the only New England-based festival participating reflects the importance of Indigenous-led platforms that support cultural continuity and cross-cultural dialogue in this region.”

Smithsonian Folklife will collaborate with the Abbe on select panel conversations and performance programming, while Dawnland remains fully grounded in Wabanaki voices, perspectives, and shared authority. 

“The 250th anniversary is a time to celebrate our extraordinary cultural democracy, to visit with the people, places and traditions within it, and to contemplate our shared future,” said Clifford Murphy, director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. “By taking the Folklife Festival beyond Washington, we recommit to our original purpose to take the Smithsonian beyond objects and buildings; we also carry out our mission to connect communities across cultures—cultivating curiosity, understanding and belonging for all people.” SI Press Release

Additional details - including panel topics, performers, and marketplace artists - will be announced in the coming months. Updates and festival information will be shared at www.DawnlandFestival.org and @abbemuseum on social platforms.  

This project received funding from the Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future: 250,” a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years.

### 

About the Abbe Museum
The Abbe Museum, located in Bar Harbor, Maine, is dedicated to illuminating and advancing understanding of, and support for, the Wabanaki Nations' heritage, living cultures, and homelands. As a leader in decolonizing museum practices, the Abbe works directly with Wabanaki Tribal Nations to share their stories, histories, and cultures. Founded in 1928, the Museum has evolved from a small trailside museum in Acadia National Park into a contemporary institution with a premier, year-round downtown location. FMI: abbemuseum.org 

About the Smithsonian Folklife Festival  
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, inaugurated in 1967, honors contemporary living cultural traditions and celebrates those who practice and sustain them. Produced annually by the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the festival has featured participants from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Sabrina Lynn Motley is the director of the Folklife Festival, and Clifford Murphy is the director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. FMI and press release.

Contact
Jessica Donahue
Nimble Pixel Studio, on behalf of Abbe Museum
Jessica@NimblePixelStudio.com
(207) 991-7630