In 2010 I went to my first festival in Starks, Maine. The festival was Harry`s Hoe Down. That is where my love for festivals started. The music moved my soul, the people made me feel as if I belonged and the place filled my heart with love. Fast forward to the year 2022 and I have returned to the Hill as a vendor at Harry`s Happening! Standing on the Hill was nostalgic, it was all the volunteering and work I have done over the past 12 years coming full circle. It was another dream come true!
Harry`s Happening is a festival that takes place in the middle of June at Harry`s Hill. Back when I was going they only had a few multi-day festivals, now they have a full calendar for the season. Oh how they have grown! Who is the man behind the Hill you may be asking? Harry is the gentleman who has resided on the Hill for decades with his wife. They started inviting musicians and music lovers in 1991 and have been building a beautiful community ever since!.
Photo: Main stage at Harry`s Happening.
The community isn`t the only thing that has grown, when I went when I was 22 there was a single stage, a huge fire pit in the middle of the hill where everyone congregated, a single vendor area and then of coarse where everyone camped in the forest! Now there is a second vendor area that is for the 420 friendly folk, a new pond for everyone too cool off in, with its own small stage on the shore!
All the vendors and the new areas are awesome to experience when it has been so long since I have been there, but what really makes this place is the people! You can find Harry and his wife among the crowd enjoying the music. Meeting new people around the fire, especially if it`s raining like it was this year. Chilling with the volunteers who make this festival possible. Between sets on the main stage enjoying Tiger Mikes MC skills, or enjoying FestiQuest with the founder Krystal Glushien.
My favorites were the people who helped me at my booth. This was their first festival and from the sounds of it they will be back. The woman I met in line waiting for gates to reopen on Thursday. The other vendors and artists. But my all time favorite was the beautiful couple that came into my booth and shared their beautiful love story!
Top left to right: Tiger Mike, festival volunteers, FestiQuest HQ. Bottom left to right: The lovers, musicians practicing at the pond, Krystal Glushien hosting a game show.
This place isn't just a festival, it is a place where families come together to laugh, it is where lovers come to love, friends come to dance and community comes to build. I am looking forward to Unicorn Tea Party and Ganja Grail this year!!!
If you want to check out this magical place enjoy this link: Harry Brown's Farm - Come Home to The Hill - Harry Brown's Farm (harryshill.net)
I hope you enjoy these other photos take of the Hill!
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