Acadia Festival of Traditional Music & Dance

For centuries, Downeast Maine has flourished as a crossroads for many styles of music and dance: Acadian, Cape Breton, Irish, Scottish and Québécois – just to name a few. The Acadia Trad Festival is dedicated to promoting education and appreciation of these traditions through an annual celebration held June 26-July 2, 2023 at the beautiful oceanfront campus of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Since 2013, the Acadia Trad Festival has brought world-class performers, students and the public together for awe-inspiring nightly concerts and dances, as well as daily classes and workshops. Students of all ability levels and a wide range of ages (adults and children 12 years and up) are welcome.

Full-time students spend the week in intensive studies, jam sessions and fun. A wide selection of afternoon workshops, dances and concerts are open to the public. Instrumental classes are taught in the aural tradition, with an emphasis on learning by ear.

The Acadia Festival of Traditional Music & Dance will host a faculty lineup that honors and celebrates traditional music and dance while contributing to its evolution. Each year, these five core disciplines will be featured: Fiddle, Guitar, Piano, Flute, and Dance. In addition to our core disciplines, the festival will include at least three additional disciplines each year. In 2023, we will offer: Accordion, Bouzouki, Harp, Community Singing, and Composition. Class sizes are limited – don’t delay in signing up!