Festival News

Aspiring and seasoned filmmakers: Submit your short film to the 2026 MFoA Film Festival!

This is your year! If you've ever wanted to see your art proudly displayed at a Festival exhibit, it all starts here! Apply now and submit your artwork for one of our 11 juried exhibitions!

This is your year! Enter your poetry or prose in the Festival's annual writing contest today! For many in Essex County, the Literary Festival’s annual writing contest is a highlight of the several-day event. Those who enter actively support the Festival’s mission to promote and foster the craft of the written word in Marblehead and surrounding communities. For admirers of entrants’ efforts, plan to hear our winners read their essays, poems, and short stories in the Lee Mansio

We are thrilled to announce the lineup for the 60th Festival Concerts @ Crocker Park Series!

The Robinson Collection Auction is now live for online bidding! Dr. Robinson was an avid fan of the Festival and collected 34 logos and other Festival memorabilia from 1983 to 2010, framed by Arnould Gallery. Additionally, the Robinson family has donated seven sculptures by Beverly Benson Seamans , an esteemed New England sculptor and granddaughter of John Prentiss Benson . This is your chance to own a piece of Marblehead history; an auction like this is truly a once-in-a-gen

We are proud to once again offer three $3000 scholarships to deserving high school senior students who reside or attend school in Marblehead.

Applications for the 2026 Marblehead Festival of Arts Artisans' Marketplace open on March 1 and end on March 31. Sally Marcy and Susan j Schrader are once again joining forces as co-chairs to put together an amazing three-day event in honor of the 60th Marblehead Festival of Arts!

Your business could be a strategic partner at the Concerts @ Crocker Park level. Limited opportunities available! The Marblehead Festival of Arts is proud to offer local businesses, individuals, and organizations of all types across Essex County and beyond the opportunity to partner with us for the 2026 Festival. This year, we have two tracks (business and individual) and multiple tiers to choose from, each with unique benefits. Tiers have been designed to offer benefits for

Due to high demand, speed puzzling is back, and it's bigger than ever! Join us for another fun Saturday morning competition with an all new 500-piece puzzle. You and your teammate will have two hours to complete your puzzle–fastest time wins! And this time, the teams with the fastest times will also qualify for our November Invitational event! Registration is first come, first serve and space is limited and filling up fast, so be sure to register to secure your place! Complim

Dr. Edward Joseph Robinson, Marblehead resident and longtime supporter of the Marblehead Festival of Arts. The Marblehead Festival of Arts, in partnership with the family of Dr. Edward Joseph Robinson, is proud to announce the auction of his collection of Festival logo art and sculptures. Produced by James Maroney, Marblehead TV. The auction will kick off with a First Look at Abbot Hall on Friday, March 6 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and will run through Sunday, April 5. Bidding

The winning logo design by student artist Brayden Coe! His inspiration and design will be featured in our 2026 logo, which will be used on all Festival material and merchandise.

January's speed puzzling event was a massive success! This sold out event featured 20 teams of two, competing at Abbot Hall to see who's the fastest in Marblehead to complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under two hours. There were crowds in the overhead gallery, press coverage on the floor, and a lot of laughs and smiles all around.

by Meghan Perlow, Vice President, MFoA As a long time puzzler, when the discussion came up about rotating in additional events to bring year-round involvement to the festival, I knew exactly what to start with. Speed puzzling has grown in popularity internationally, including national and international championships popping up with incredible record breaking times from the fastest puzzlers in the world. New England remains fairly limited in speed puzzling opportunities, so it

The Marblehead Festival of Arts invites professional and nonprofessional individuals who currently reside, work, attend a school, or belong to an arts association in Essex County to submit entries for the 60th Marblehead Festival of Arts Logo Contest. This long-standing and prestigious competition, as old as the festival itself, produces a one-of-a-kind design to symbolize each year's event. Festival logos appear on merchandise, signage, web pages, and so much more, and are u

Marblehead's annual holiday tradition returns! The Marblehead Festival of Arts is proud to present the Artisans' Holiday Marketplace ! Enjoy shopping for unique, creative, hand-crafted gifts for your friends and family—and maybe yourself, too! This one-of-a-kind market in historic Abbot Hall will feature new artists and returning favorites, providing you a wide selection of gifts for everyone in your life. But shopping is just the beginning! Sip on signature cocktails and cra

Read on for the complete list of all 38 vendors at this year's Artisan's Marketplace, with a description of their offerings direct from the artisans! Bubble Bar Boston Bubble Bar Boston is a vintage-inspired mobile bar delivering charm, elegance, and expertly crafted cocktails to events across New England. Founded by a mother-son duo, their fleet—including a retro trailer, a 1948 Dodge truck, and a custom bubble-bike—brings a unique and stylish experience to weddings, parties

We strongly encourage any families wishing to build a model boat to reserve your model boat kit immediately, because there are extremely limited boat kits available for walk-up requests.

If you know Abbot Hall, then you know the incredible work of the caretaker Bruce Hamilton, who, for the past ten years, has also been an integral part of the operations that make the Marblehead Festival of Arts happen. Because Bruce needs to get around town fast during Festival week, we're so excited to announce that our good friends at Marblehead Cycle offered a to provide Bruce with a bicycle to allow him to get around Old Town with ease. Marblehead Cycle owner Dan Shuman s

Information Booth at Old Town House, Washington Street at 1 Market Square July 3-4, 10:00 am-5:00 pm Logo Store/Information Booth at Abbot Hall, 188 Washington Street July 5, 10:00 am-5:00 pm July 6, 10:00 am-4:00 pm New this year! Join together as a community and showcase Marblehead’s painting skills. Take part in a GIANT paint-by-number mural that’s fun for the whole family! Receive a numbered paint container and a sponge brush, and find your corresponding number on our 5’

The start of a Festival tradition! Kids are welcome to participate in the Festival’s new Art Scavenger Hunt! Visit each of our exhibit venues (Abbot Hall, Old North Church, Masonic Temple, St. Michael’s Church, and Unitarian Universalist Church) and grab a 2025 Program Book ($5 suggested donation). At each venue, find the piece of art corresponding to one of the six clues listed in the Program Book (or three clues for kids under 12), and write your answers in the spaces below