Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Sacred and Profane festival 2010!

This year Sacred and Profane is on Saturday, October 23rd, leaving Portland on the 2:15pm Peaks Island ferry boat! The Green Hand is pleased to be one of the ticket purchase points this year. Tickets are now available!

Every year Peaks Island hosts this festival around the time of a full moon during harvest season. Artists are gathered months ahead to prepare for a transformation of the abandoned Battery Steele, which sits at the center of the island.

On arrival at the island, visitors approach the event in a procession, encountering costumed performers and other unknowns along the way. No electricity is available, so participants wander through the different rooms of the complex by provided candlelight. Site specific works are many and varied, and the experience is apt to product a mystified, euphoric mood in participants as they wander through, never knowing what they'll encounter next. It's its own kind of spooky. :)

At the tail end of the festival, delicious hot food is provided to visitors before they depart back to the mainland.

Visitors are responsible for buying their ferry tickets at the Casco Bay Lines terminal. Festival tickets are sold separately and are $10 each. The number of tickets is limited due to capacity, so advance purchase is encouraged. Tickets are available at Strange Maine (the shop, at 578 Congress Street, Portland, ME 207-771-9997, http://www.kraag.org/strange/) and at the Green Hand Bookshop (661 Congress Street, Portland 207-450-6695 http://greenhandbooks.blogspot.com/).

6 comments:

  1. Hey,

    This fest sounds awesome! Is there any way to buy a ticket from outside of Portland?

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  2. The tickets are cash-only purchase, but so far as I know they traditionally also sell some as people arrive at the island on the 2:15 ferry, so even if you don't buy ahead of time, there is a good chance that they will be available on site when you arrive. :)

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  3. do we have to take the ferry or will our own boat do?

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  4. Hi Blake! I believe you can get there however you like. :) The 2:15 ferry (arriving @ the island ~2:35) simply lands you at the right time for the procession to the festival site, which is a great part of the fun. Show up via your own boat if you like! :)

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  5. If the physical tickets run out we can still get people in. Your ten dollar purchase will still get you into the festival, and maybe you can pick up a discarded ticket if you're into having something tangible.

    I'd like to add to Michelle's excellent description that we'll have multiple musical performances and some varied other entertainments.

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