NEW GLOUCESTER — Under a giant tent in proximity to a century-old maple tree where Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett resided and wrote the famous Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts,” the fifth annual Maine Native American Summer Market and Demonstration will be held on Aug. 24.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village at 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, rain or shine.

The gathering of traditional artists and performing artists forms a “rare gathering representing a blending of the oldest, continuing traditions in the State of Maine,” Shaker Museum Director Michael Graham said.

To Maine’s four tribes, the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Micmac Nations, this is a significant event,  Graham added.

“The nice thing is this is becoming a place for a family reunion for so many of the families who have family members and friends living in southern Maine where they can connect with each other. It’s becoming meaningful for artists to participate in Shaker culture and an opportunity for mutual support and collaboration,” says Graham.

“I think the thing we understand is because there are living Shakers here, we understand the sensitivity and objectification in this educational collaboration. This is a heritage. We are distinctly separate, but on a similar mission to preserve our heritage to a large audience.

Twenty-one traditional artists will be offering their distinctive ash and sweet grass baskets — both fancy and utilitarian — along with handcrafted jewelry, wood carvings and birch-bark objects.

Passamaquoddy basket maker Molly Neptune Parker of Princeton will attend for the fifth year.  She is the matriarch of four generations of Passamaquoddy basket weavers.

In 2012, Parker was honored as a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts and the recipient of a $25,000 award. She is a member of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance.

Performing artists include the Burnurwurbskek Singers, The Sipayik Dance Troupe and David Sanipass, a Micmac storyteller and native flute player.

The traditional artists include:

Kim Bryant, Pam and Jacob Cunningham, Butch Jacobs, Fred Tomah, George Neptune, Molly Neptune Parker, Caron Shay and Rosanne Carlson, Gal Frey and Stuart Tomah, Michael Silliboy, David Moses Bridges, Barry Dana, Richard Silliboy, Janice Francis, Wilma Mariano Shay, Brenda Moore Mitchell, Gabe Frey, Susan Thompson, Frances Soctomah, Tim Shay.

The Maine Arts Commission and the Davis Family Foundation sponsor this event.