POLAND SPRING — Maine’s Dooryard Festival, a new event celebrating Maine’s creative legacy, has been scheduled for Friday and Saturday, July 27-28, at the Poland Spring Resort.

Plein air painter Lois Dodd will be honored and a wide array of Maine-centric expression, from the traditional to the contemporary, will be showcased.

The goal of the festival, a collaborative project of the Western Maine Art Group and Poland Spring Preservation Society, is to represent creativity inspired by Maine.

Artist and vendor opportunities are still available, with applications to be taken up to the week of the festival, to be held rain or shine. On-site tutorials or workshops are welcome along with homemade specialty foods and vendors that prepare foods on-site. For more details and downloadable application forms, visit www.mainesdooryardfestival.com.

Vendor/exhibitors will display paintings, photography, handcrafted furniture, quilts, fine art, folk art, sculptures, home and decorative items, recreational and outdoor crafts, fiber arts and glass works on the resort grounds on Saturday. Admission is free that day, with the festival opening at 10 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m.

A competition for artists and craftspeople will be held in the Poland Spring Water Museum on the grounds of the resort at 543 Main Street (Route 26). There will be four general categories: 2-D fine art, 2-D craft, 3-D fine art and 3-D craft. In addition, two People’s Choice Awards will be given. Awards will be announced at noon. Jurors will be Lois Dodd and arts writer Daniel Kany.

Friday’s events will run from 5:30 to 8:15 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., the Little Maine Dress Competition will be held. Forget about the little black dress. This year, it’s all about Maine with competitors invited to submit their most fantastic, inspired, conceptual and ridiculous ideas. All dresses must be wearable and must be displayed in a free-standing manner.

Participants will be chosen to walk down the runway before judges humorist Gary Crocker and radio personality Rita Cary. They can wear their design or ask a  friend to model it. The winner will get a solo show at the Coleman Burke Gallery in Portland for the month of August. All proceeds will go to a scholarship fund for youths to attend camp at the University of Maine 4-H Camp and Learning Center in Bryant Pond.