Starting in 2025, the Norway Arts Festival will be produced by Lights Out and take place on Sept. 12 in collaboration with its Norway Block Party & Pig Roast. Supplied photo

NORWAY — Creative Norway has announced that management of the annual Norway Arts Festival is transitioning to Lights Out, another Norway nonprofit dedicated to connecting Maine artists and community.

Starting this year, the midsummer festival will be known as the Norway Maine Arts Festival and will be held Sept. 12 to coincide with Lights Out’s Norway Block Party, which launched last fall with a community pig roast held at the Wook Nook and live entertainment and art showings at The Carriage House and Gingerbread House on Main Street and at The Wolf & Harp on Pleasant Street.

Ben Troutman, left, and Cordelia Perry of Lights Out in Norway are the new coordinators for the Norway Arts Festival. The festival date is moving from July to the second Saturday of September. Submitted photo

“The festival will have relatively the same format as previous years,” said Cordelia Perry, community outreach coordinator for Lights Out. “It will be a beautiful one-day affair on Main Street with music, performances, art and food. Vendors of various arts and crafts will be heavily featured just as they have traditionally been.”

In surveying the community, the two organizations determined that local businesses are better served by keeping Main Street open to vehicle traffic during the height of the tourist season. Holding the two events as one post-Labor Day date gives new opportunities for artists and craftsmen to exhibit and sell their wares.

“Having worked directly with the Lights Out team, we are confident they will be heartily invested in the continuing success and evolution of the event,” said Jess Cooper, project coordinator for Creative Norway. “They have deep connections in the world of art, are savvy in business as owners of their own establishment, and as Norway residents they are working directly with the community the event means to serve.”

Perry said that Lights Out will soon announce vendor registration opening and expects to receive a record number of submissions.

“Lights Out aims to make this event bigger and better,” Perry said in an emailed statement. “We will stay true to its roots by providing a platform for local artists, musicians, and performers to highlight their talents and connect with the public.”