Northlands 2nd Annual Festival will bring our community together to experience the joy of personal connection through music and the arts. Over two days and three stages, the Northlands community will see 25+ world class bands ranging from national touring acts to local and regional rising stars. Enjoy expanded camping, campground stage, silent disco, installation art, performance art, eclectic local food trucks, several diverse bar locations, craft artisan village, inspiring lighting, kind vibes & more! Northlands will continue its sustainability initiatives through locally sourced foods, recycling programs, eliminating single use plastic bottles, partnering with savRcup for reusable cups, and offering MORE free refillable water stations.

READ BELOW ON NORTHLANDS’ ROOTS…

Adding a beautiful concessions area in 2021, we created a funky and fun outdoor vibe for an unforgettable fan experience. Cars in the audience were replaced by socially distanced pods. Improved production elevated the concert experience for fans and artists alike. These changes ushered in the era of NORTHLANDS! We presented another season of concerts with artists including Umphrey's McGee, Warren Haynes, Goose, Disco Biscuits, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Twiddle, Pink Talking Fish, Allman Betts Band, Badfish, moe. & more!

Coming into 2022, our growing organization made the switch to one large scale, weekend long event. NORTHLANDS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL was born! Over two days and two stages, large crowds experienced 15 world class bands, and enjoyed on-site camping, installation art, performance art, eclectic local food trucks, several bar locations, craft artisan vendors, a VIP area and much more for an absolutely epic weekend.

Join us for an afternoon of learning and celebration of pollinators during National Pollinator Week! Learn more from organizations throughout our region, and enjoy games and activities for participants of all ages! Activities include: a pollinator scavenger hunt, creating your own bee box, painting your own pot for a native plant, and more! Presented by Cheshire County Conservation District, the Harris Center for Conservation Education, the City of Keene Parks and Recreation, Friends of the Ashuelot River, Moosewood Ecological, Keene Public Library, SOAK Up the Rain NH, The Monadnock Food Co-Op, Monadnock Grows Together, The Caterpillar Lab, Antioch University New England, and Healthy Home Habitats. This event is free and open to the public! The event will be held rain or shine! This year, we are also excited to offer the opportunity to shop locally and support conservation! Local plant and compost vendors will be selling a variety of products, with 20% of sales supporting CCCD's conservation programs! Vendors include: Fassett Farm Nursery, Thistle Dew Farm, Julie's Garden, Cook Hill Farm, and Echo Farm Puddings! Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pollinator-palooza-tickets-546434669807

On Sunday, July 10th, more than 1,000 enthusiastic community members, fans, and artists gathered for a beautiful, warm day on the verdant grounds of MacDowell to celebrate the internationally renowned poet, writer, and 62nd Edward MacDowell Medalist Sonia Sanchez! The weather was stunning for our first public Medal Day since 2019. Under the big white tent, Board President Andrew Senchak welcomed our guests before Board Chair and MacDowell Fellow Nell Painter spoke on how Sonia's work illuminates the redeeming qualities of American society. Executive Director Philip Himberg then introduced prolific novelist and MacDowell Fellow Walter Mosley, who reflected on the impact of Sonia's incredible decades-long career. The ceremony concluded with a heartfelt and rousing acceptance speech from Sonia, followed by a poetry performance with musical accompaniment on electric bass from MacDowell Fellow Jamaaladeen Tacuma. After a picnic lunch, the MacDowell grounds bustled with visitors on the usually quiet paths as artists-in-residence graciously invited the public into their open studios, showing works in progress and describing the artistic processes being undertaken at MacDowell. This year we were joined by the Peterborough Town Library, whose staff set up a Pop-up Poetry Library in our lilac garden where visitors browsed poetry on display and were invited to create their own poems using local artist Erin Sweeney’s zine as a guide and by gathering words found on the MacDowell grounds. An author and international lecturer on Black culture and literature, women’s liberation, peace, and racial justice, Sonia Sanchez joins an august group of other MacDowell Medal winners such as Robert Frost (1962), Georgia O’Keeffe (1972), Leonard Bernstein (1987), Louise Bourgeois (1990), I.M. Pei (1998), Sonny Rollins (2010), Stephen Sondheim (2013), Toni Morrison (2016), Art Spiegelman (2018), Charles Gaines (2019), and Rosanne Cash (2021). Sanchez is the author of more than 20 books of poetry, children’s literature, and plays, including We a BaddDDD People, Homegirls and Handgrenades (winner of the 1985 American Book Award), Under a Soprano Sky, Does Your House Have Lions?, Like the Singing Coming off the Drums, Shake Loose My Skin, and Morning Haiku.