The Crooked River Gathering

Join Us at the First Annual Crooked River Gathering (45 minutes from Portland, in Hiram Maine). We are proud to present a lineup of music, craft, food, farm goods, and skill sharing demonstrations from the New England community and beyond. 

What we offer: Enjoy a full weekend of bluegrass and old timey music from regional based and nationally touring bands, plus overnight camping with campfire jams, open mics and more. Overnight tickets or single day tickets available. Food trucks, craft beer vendors, and artisan vendors give you plenty more to check out and enjoy, or grab some produce from the farmers market and cook over the fire. Plus, we'll have farming, homesteading and resilient skill demonstrations--everything from mushroom identification, to various fermentation techniques (from hard cider to sourdough), how to dry flowers and make a wreath, grow your own herbal tea, build compost, care for your woodlot, and more! This is the kind of event where you meet your best friend that you don't know yet, if you're looking for your community, come find it here!

Campsites and Tickets:  Kids 17 and under are FREE, and camping is included in your ticket for the four days, or come early and hang out all week (for a per night fee) We offer both flat and accessible RV and camping sites on the Ossipee Fairgrounds with hot showers and flush restrooms, and woodland camping around the stage and along the river with walking access to the showers and restrooms on the fairgrounds up the hill. 

Address: 291 South Hiram Road, and 351 South Hiram Hiram Maine (The Ossipee Fairgrounds and Crooked River Woodlands). Just 45 min from Portland or North Conway. 

Why Crooked River? /About: Crooked River is the name of our wilderness event campground that runs along the banks of a large "crook" in the Ossipee River just before it feeds into the Saco River, in Hiram Maine. Crooked River Woodlands is adjacent to the Ossipee Valley Fairgrounds and both venues will be used for this event. Crooked River refers not only to our special corner of the river where we gather, but also to the term "Crooked" in Bluegrass music (a big part of this event), in which the structure of a tune that is learned by ear is a little different at one point in an unexpected way, so you have to pay attention and remember the change! Crooked things in nature (water flow patterns, trees, etc) are often an example of resilience, in adapting to the environment in order to thrive. This resilience is embodied in our skill sharing, farming and homesteading demonstrations and workshops, where we come together to skill share and appreciate the many talents quirks and hobbies of our neighbors. Our unique little venue embodies both the connection to the land (and the "Crooked River), and the connection to Bluegrass music, and just generally the idea of being a little "crooked" in a good way! 

This event is called a "gathering" rather than a "festival" or "fair" because it is primarily a community based gathering for folks to share their love of music, nature, and handmade/homemade/farm raised/folk life culture, and it is a grass roots event that will grow over time. Events will take place between 12pm-8pm daily, with overnight camping and jamming at campsites all night long. Certain areas will offer quiet camping as well. Email us at info@crookedriverarts.org or visit our website for more info!