Juneteenth Festival Recap

Glen David Andrews Band and the Ideal Maine Social Aid and Sanctuary Band lead the parade from the opening ceremony at the The Public Theatre to the block party in Kennedy Park.

MIO’s Juneteenth Festival “The City That Carries Us: Pain, Streets and Heartbeats” was a beautiful celebration of community, love, and joy. Thank you to the City of Lewiston, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations for partnering with us on this project and to all our coalition partners who joined us in dreaming and planning for the festival. Check out the event webpage for the full list of organizations and people who partnered with us. 

 

The festival would not have been possible without many hands holding the logistical, safety, and accessibility of the events. Thank you to The Public Theatre for hosting us inside for the opening ceremony on such a hot day. Thank you to Androscoggin Bank for distributing over 1,000 free water bottles to festival participants and to Recovery Connections of Maine for cooking over 200 free hamburgers and hot dogs in Kennedy Park. Thank you to our volunteer safety team for your careful planning and support. And thank you to the ASL interpreters for interpreting speakers, musical acts, and theater performances in the Public Theatre and Kennedy Park. 

We were blessed to collaborate with incredible artists who brought the festival to life with tremendous love and generosity. Glen David Andrews Band and Ideal Maine Social Aid and Sanctuary Band performed at the opening ceremony and led the parade. Miguel Angel Pacheco walked on stilts and Joanah Bailin rode a unicycle while juggling in the parade. Members of Youth LED Justice and Recovery Connections of Maine led mask making. Yssolo Serafim led the co-creation of a large community banner while ARRT!, Yssolo, and L/A Arts supported MIO and community members to create over 15 original parade banners. Andre Hicks, DJ Dane Morgan, Kenya Hall, and Samuel James performed live at the block party. Claudio Jimenez designed the festival graphic in collaboration with the MIO team. Andrew Forsthoefel supported us in the design and facilitation of the community grief ceremony. Deep gratitude to Amanda Houtari who facilitated the MIO creative ensemble to create the original play “Broken Clocks” that was performed live at The Public Theatre and in Kennedy Park. MIO community artists shared poetry at Kennedy Park and currently incarcerated artists collaborated with podcaster Emma Reynolds to record poetry and stories that featured in “Broken Clocks.” The full recording is linked below. 


Thank you to Mayor Carl Sheline and Bob Greene of the Atlantic Black Box for speaking about the importance of celebrating Juneteenth in Lewiston and the history of Black folks in Maine. Thank you to the Lewiston community for carrying grief and joy with us in honor of Juneteenth and in the work of creating freedom together. 

Photos from Juneteenth Festival “The City That Carries Us: Pain, Streets, and Heartbeats.” From top left: MIO artists and team member Hassan wearing the festival t-shirt, community members carrying parade banners, Glen David Andrews Band  and Ideal Maine Social Aid and Sanctuary Band leading the parade, the MIO creative ensemble performing at The Public Theatre, unveiling the community banner by Yssolo Serafim, the Youth-LED Justice convertible in the parade, young people enjoying the block party bounce house, the MIO ensemble performing at Kennedy Park, and Andre Hicks performing at the park. Photographs by Mayor Carl Sheline, Sun Journal, Maine Humanities Council, and Jonah Fertig-Burd.

Juneteenth Festival In The Press

Mountain View Correctional Facility Performance & Podcast Recording

Maine Inside Out’s group of incarcerated artists at Mountain View Correctional Facility created a new play this Spring titled “Life Lost In the Streets.” The play focused on themes of growing into manhood, the struggles of street life and incarceration and the significance of brotherhood. The play was humorous and heartbreaking, a powerful tale woven in by the group members' life experiences. The facility administration canceled the June 7th public performance in order to prioritize security inside the facility. 


Prior to the performance the inside artists had created a recording of poetry and stories in collaboration with podcaster Emma Reynolds. These recordings were incorporated into the original play “Broken Clocks” performed by the MIO ensemble at the Juneteenth Festival. The entire 6 minute podcast is available for listening on the MIO festival webpage linked below. This recording is an opportunity to connect and bear witness to their powerful voices and to engage in a larger dialogue with the artists. If you are compelled, please share any reflections you have after listening to admin@maineinsideout.org and we will get them to the artists.

Maine Inside Out