Sat, 08/22/2026 - 9:00am

School-time audience at the Strand Theater. (Photo by Marti Stone Photography)

Art-making at the Farnsworth Art Museum. (Photo courtesy Farnsworth Art Museum)

Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival display. (Photo courtesy Farnsworth Art Museum)

hello hello books. (Photo courtesy hello hello books)

CMCA ArtLab at the Villager Cafe. (Photo courtesy Center for Maine Contemporary Art)

School-time audience at the Strand Theater. (Photo by Marti Stone Photography)

Art-making at the Farnsworth Art Museum. (Photo courtesy Farnsworth Art Museum)

Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival display. (Photo courtesy Farnsworth Art Museum)

hello hello books. (Photo courtesy hello hello books)

CMCA ArtLab at the Villager Cafe. (Photo courtesy Center for Maine Contemporary Art)

ROCKLAND and CAMDEN — Four local organizations are working together to bring events celebrating the Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival to Rockland and Camden this fall. Spanning from September 12 to October 18, each event is offered at no cost to participants and includes free book giveaways.

The Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival celebrates Black and Black Immigrant children’s books and their creators with an annual 3,000+ book giveaway to Maine families. The festival honors the legacy of legendary Black children’s book creator and artist Ashley Bryan and is named after his classic picture book, Beautiful Blackbird. The festival was founded in 2020 by Indigo Arts Alliance in partnership with I’m Your Neighbor Books and Diverse BookFinder. It has since grown from a Portland-area festival to a statewide celebration, according to a news release.

In Midcoast Maine, festivities will kick off on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., at Rockland’s hello hello books. The staff at hello hello will offer a read-aloud of Ashley Bryan’s Beautiful Blackbird as well as Shauntay Grant’s The Deepest Blue. Books will be available at the store for giveaways at this event as well as throughout the month of the festival. Hello hello books will also mail books featured by the festival to organizations and families throughout the state free of charge.

The festival continues at the Strand Theatre on Friday, Oct. 16, from 9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m., for a school-time reading and performance open to all schools, homeschools, and families with kids not yet in school. Actor-educator-theater maker Mélissa Smith will give an interactive reading of Oge Mora’s book, Saturday, followed by an original performance that corresponds with the book’s themes. This event is recommended for ages 3-8, or grades Pre-K to 2nd, and each group will receive a copy of the book to bring back to their school/home. Registration for this free event is required at rocklandstrand.com.

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art is teaming up with Midcoast Villager to offer a special art making and book giveaway event at the Villager Cafe in Camden on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 - 2 p.m. In this ArtLab for All Ages, participants will create a colorful cut paper collage inspired by the ocean. The theme is seen in the festival book Sail Away, in which poet Langston Hughes and artist Ashley Bryan celebrate the sea. Participants will take home a free copy of the book after the activity.

On Sunday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., the Farnsworth Art Museum will host a special book giveaway and art making engagement as part of Rockland's monthly Sunday Stroll. Meet Farnsworth staff outside of the museum on Main Street to make a craft inspired by the imagery and themes of The Night Has Ears by Ashley Bryan. The first fifty participants will get a copy of the book to take home.

For more information on the festival and other happenings throughout the state, visit beautifulblackbird.com.

hello hello books is located at 316 Main Street in Rockland; the Strand Theatre is located at 345 Main Street in Rockland; the Villager Cafe is located at 25 Mechanic Street in Camden; and the Farnsworth Museum is located at 16 Museum Street in Rockland.