Mission

Maine Folklife Center Mission Statement

The Maine Folklife Center ‘s mission is to research, teach about, preserve, publish, provide public programming  and engage communities in  the  vernacular arts and culture of Maine and the Maritime Provinces. 

Teaching mission. The Maine Folklife Center offers courses in folklore and oral history, Native American folklore, folklore of Maine and the Maritimes, folklore and the environment and Interviewing Methods.

Publishing mission: The Maine Folklife Center publishes an annual monograph series, Northeast Folklore, occasional publications, and the Maine Folklife Newsletter.

Research mission: The Maine Folklife Center staff conducts research about traditional culture in Maine and the Maritime Provinces, and provides research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.

Preservation mission: The Maine Folklife Center maintains the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History (more than 3,000 accessions of audio recordings and transcripts, 10,000 photographs), and provides preservation services to other archives.

Community engagement mission: The Maine Folklife Center continues to provide expertise to communities in documenting their culture through ethnography and public programming.

Public programming mission: The Maine Folklife Center produces the Folk and Traditional Arts area of the American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront.