Fifty years ago, in 1974, Jean Armour Hunt had a vision. She was a popular artist and had traveled the United States to attend art shows in small towns that drew big crowds. After spending her early years in Argentina, California and Illinois she and her husband moved to Boothbay Harbor in 1973. She envisioned one of those art shows would be ideal for Boothbay Harbor and the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library was the perfect place for it. 

Jean named her organization the “Harbor Arts & Craft Guild.” She got permission to use the lawn and mapped out 50 spaces for artists and crafters.  Every space was filled with artists and crafters for her first show in 1974. It was a huge success and that’s how it all began.

Today, 50 years later, her dream is still going strong although a much smaller group due to the changing times of online sales but all of us still love the interaction with the people we meet from around the U.S. that vacation in the small town of Boothbay Harbor. During our 50 years the Guild has had some very loyal hard-working leaders who have carried on Jean’s vision including artist William Spring and crafter Sheila Lewis whose humor and quick wit was loved by all. We strive to have a variety of quality craft and art work including bowls, cups, bird bath pottery that is shaped by hand, paintings on canvas, tiles and wood, unique jewelry, hand turned wooden bowls, cloth items such as aprons, pot holders, table runners, stuffed animals such as lobsters, bears, cats, wooden birdhouses, rope doormats made from used lobster rope that actually brought a lobster up from the ocean as well as many more unique items.

This year in 2024 we will be on the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library lawn every Wednesday starting June 26 through Sept. 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.