NEW GLOUCESTER — Forty Maine Wabanaki artists will travel to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village for the sixth annual Maine Native American Summer Market and Demonstration on Saturday, Aug. 23.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. under a large tent at 707 Shaker Road, rain or shine. Admission is free.

“This is really big,” said Michael Graham, director of the Shaker Village. “It’s Maine’s finest award-winning Wabanaki artists who have gained national recognition for achievements in their fields. This is the largest gathering of Wabanaki tradition in Southern Maine.

“These people are bringing a national awareness to Maine’s tribes and with that comes respect, recognition and a sense of pride, like the Shakers. This is a part of Maine’s living culture that demonstrates identity, value and traditions.”

As former apprentices to elder basket makers, many of today’s award-winning Wabanaki basket makers reach out to younger generations of future emerging artists in an enduring apprenticeship program.

For example, Passamaquoddy artist Molly Neptune Parker of Pleasant Point will attend for the sixth year. She is the matriarch of four generations of Passamaquoddy basket weavers.

In 2012, the National Endowment for the arts honored Parker as a National Heritage Fellow. She is a member of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, based in Old Town.

Parker’s grandson, George Neptune, earned a national award in Santa Fe, N.M., last year, a testimony to his artistic talent, learned from his grandmother.

The Wabanaki, People of the Dawn, include the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac and Maliseet tribal members, who will demonstrate traditional Wabanaki art forms, including basket making, stone carving, bark etching, beadwork and jewelry.

Traditional Wabanaki artists attending include: Gal Frey and Stuart Tomah of Princeton, Butch Jacobs of Waldo, Wilma and Shanidim Shay of Indian Island, Pam and Jacob Cunningham of Hampden, Molly Neptune Parker of Princeton, Barry and Lori Dana of Solon, Richard Silliboy of Littleton, David Sanipass of Old Town, Michael Silliboy of Houlton, Caron Shay and Roxanne Carlson of Indian Island, Brenda Moore Mitchell of Perry, Frances Soctomah of Princeton, Tim Shay of Indian Island, Linda Dana of Perry, Gabe Frey of Princeton, Dolly Barnes of Princeton, Mary Creighton of Pleasant Point and Fred Tomah of Houlton.

Drumming performances by the Burnurwurbskek Singers of Indian Island, dancing by the Sipayik Troupe of Perry, storytelling by Micmac spiritual elder David Sanipass and the Waphonaki Museum at Pleasant Point will be part of the event.

The Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Community Foundation and support from the participating Wabanaki artists and private donations fund the Maine Native American Summer Market.

The Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village is America’s only active Shaker Village and Maine’s largest national historic landmark. It is a National Historic District and on the National Register of Historic Places.

For more information, call 926-4597.

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