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March 20 may be the official start of spring, but Emily Isaacson said the third month of the year is often Maine\u2019s most miserable time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re stuck inside,\u201d Isaacson said. \u201cIt\u2019s too warm for skiing but too cold for swimming. And so I started to think about creating something that broke us out of hibernation and into spring.\u201d<\/p>\n
As she developed the idea, Isaacson, the founder and artistic director of performing arts collective Classical Uprising<\/u><\/a>, said her vision became less about escapism and more about how joy and connection can help to revitalize and reawaken a community.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we gather in community, when we dance and lift our voices, we really become alive again,\u201d Isaacson said. \u201cAnd so, we created a series of events that encourage you to come out of isolation, to connect, to refuel burnout through play and despair through collective energy and to really promote being silly and playful.\u201d<\/p>\n Two years later, Maine\u2019s first Mudfest<\/u><\/a> is set to energize and inspire people of all ages through events like live-orchestra musical chairs, choir-singing in a brewery and an all-out dance party, complete with a Burning-Man-style bonfire.<\/p>\n The ethos of Mudfest is in lockstep with the aims of Classical Uprising, which works to \u201cchallenge current norms and re-envision where, how and for whom we make music,\u201d Isaacson said. For more than a decade, she said the group has been performing, hosting events and leading educational programs that bring classical music into the everyday lives of community members and into unexpected spaces, like bars and bowling alleys.<\/p>\n <\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div> That central mission is what drew Jenny O\u2019Connell, co-creator of The Joyfire Project<\/u><\/a>, to Mudfest. She said both projects are about exploring a shared humanity, resilience and power.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about staying close and connected to what makes us feel human,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cGiven the mission of Classical Uprising\u2019s events, which are so based around strengthening and connecting communities and helping people into their bodies, into the world in a way that allows them to really experience music and experience community, it was just such a natural progression to jump into Mudfest.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell and The Joyfire Project will be a part of the Mud Ball, the dance party that culminates in a communal release through a bonfire.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an intentional act of letting go of what our bodies have been holding all winter and releasing what we need to release \u2014 the fear, the stress, the anger, whatever we need to let go of to create the space for new growth and for spring,\u201d O\u2019Connella said. \u201dIt\u2019s sort of a spring cleaning of the mind and spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n So how much mud is actually part of Mudfest? Plenty, Isaacson said. But the mud represents much more than just mess to her.<\/p>\n \u201cI really think that joy is a civic practice and that we don\u2019t create enough opportunities, especially as adults, to give ourselves permission to be truly joyful. So mud is a symbol of permission to do all of those things with reckless abandon,\u201d Isaacson said.<\/p>\n Mudfest runs from Thursday, March 19, 2026 through Sunday, March 29, 2026 in Greater Portland, Brunswick and Freeport. <\/i>Click here for more information<\/u><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n Guests<\/b><\/p>\n
\n Photo by Christina Wnek, provided by Classical Uprising
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