BELFAST — Wild Blueberry Collective and Niweskok are collaborating to present The Blueberry Blues, a Canadian documentary, at the Colonial Theatre. Proceeds will go towards the Wild Blueberry Collective’s goal of purchasing and protecting 158 acres of blueberry land in Searsport, Maine.  

This one-night special presentation will take place on Tuesday, July 28, at 6:30 p.m, at the Colonial Theatre, located at 163 High Street in downtown Belfast, Maine. Tickets cost $15 and are available at the box office or in advance through the Colonial Theatre’s website. Fifty percent of the evening’s proceeds will go towards the Wild Blueberry Collective’s mission. 

The Wild Blueberry Collective, a women- and two-spirit-lead nonprofit working towards purchasing and protecting 158 acres of blueberry land in Searsport. Maine has lost 100,000+ acres of wild blueberry land in less than 100 years, according to a Colonial Theatre news release. 

“We intend to save some and open it to our community for picking, recreation and educational and art classes,” says Gloria Pearse, on behalf of the Wild Blueberry Collective, in the news release. “The land we are hoping to conserve has been machine harvested and sprayed for years. We are looking forward to working with Nisweskok to harvest and manage these barrens in a less invasive, more traditional way.” 

The Blueberry Blues is a 2025 documentary that focuses on the wild blueberry harvest of Northern Canada, where migrant and local harvest workers connect through music. Directed by Andrès Livov, the film had its premiere as one of the closing night films at the Camden International Film Festival.  

About Wild Blueberry Collective: The Wild Blueberry Collective is made up of restaurant industry workers, educators, moms & parents, horticulturists, foragers, and artists. We are combining our hard work ethic and passions to collectively do better for our community and planet.

About Niweskok: Niweskok, a collaboration of food and medicine providers, rematriates Wabanaki life ways by engaging with our kinship responsibilities and reclaiming traditional foods and healing. We prioritize restoring the Penobscot Bay region as a Wabanaki food hub.

About the Colonial Theatre: The Colonial Theatre is owned and operated by Hawthorne Arts Collaborative, a nonprofit organization rooted in the preservation of the century-old theatre and its continued operation as a cinema and arts hub. For more information, visit colonialtheatre.com.