POLAND – Gearing up for a day of cultural family fun, Valhalla Festival organizers have packed Saturday, June 21, with musical acts, fine art exhibits, artisans, vendors, live animals, educational demonstrations, ethnic foods and after-hours comedy.

The free annual festival has evolved around the grassroots efforts of Valhalla Fields Farm, according to organizer Emmy Andersson, who predicted this year’s festival will be the biggest yet.

Besides a full musical lineup, festivalgoers can expect to find works by the Western Maine Art Group members as well as photos taken by Zakk Maher, locally made hand crafts, agriculturally oriented demos related to sustainable agriculture and locally grown, organic foods.

Headlining the 2008 Valhalla Festival will be Mystic Vibes, an original roots/reggae band from Portland that has played with such acts as Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, the Wailers, Third World, Morgan Heritage and John Browns Body. Mystic Vibes is also scheduled to headline the Norway Arts Festival on July 12.

Featured musicians include Monday Night Posse; Folk by Association; the duo of Karen Krajacic and Jill Cowen; el Grande, a groove-rock super group from Portland; Dead Man’s Clothes; Anna’s Ghost, fresh out of Portland with a shuffling, rambling gypsy sort of sound; the Kevin Roper Project, indie rock mixed with the art of jam; the Beat Horizon, formed with the goal of creating danceable, high-energy music and drawing on musical influences such as reggae, ska, hip-hop, funk, Afro-beat, and Latin; the Jerks of Grass, Idette & the Sunrunners and Ryan Waning.

For more information, log on to www.ValhallaFields.com.