Indigo Arts Alliance is gearing up for the third annual Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival, named after children’s book pioneer and artist Ashley Bryan. The festival is dedicated to the promotion of literacy and the development of positive identities for Black and Brown children. The Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival offers literary content throughout the year, as well as local and in-person events that will take place September 17-18 in Portland, Rockland, and Lewiston/Auburn. Visit www.BeautifulBlackbird.com to learn more.
Family and friends gathered on Little Cranberry Island on July 13 to celebrate the well-lived life of Ashley Bryan, renowned artist, writer, storyteller, and long-time resident of Maine, on what would have been his 99th birthday. Bryan lived for decades on the island, and was a friend to all, young and old. The island honored him with a flotilla of boats.
Photo top right: -Bari Haskins-Jackson, Bryan’s niece, reminisced about her beloved uncle. She quoted Ashley Bryan’s mother, Olive Bryan, on her son’s birth: “The angels came down from heaven and kissed him on his forehead”. Photo bottom left: Daniel Minter joins hundreds of guests on Islesford.
