Programs & Events
CAE supports arts programming that connects people with nature and with this unique landscape — concerts, walks, film, dance, and writing, all year round.
Upcoming Events
We invite you to join us for a summer and fall filled with hands-on learning, artistic exploration, cultural experiences, and opportunities to deepen your connection with community and the natural world.
presented by the Portland Children's Museum & Theatre
A magical staging of the beloved story, performed for all ages out on the dunes at the Desert of Maine.
More programs are added all season. Each event has its own page with full details and tickets, and members hear first. Members attend free monthly ecology events, with discounted arts tickets and early camp registration, from $30 a year. Become a member →
Our commitment
We are committed to developing programs that center queer and BIPOC composers and artists — voices that have been creating fantastic art for a long time, but have too often been excluded from the canon. Our programming invites everyone into a deeper relationship with this land and with one another.
The Archive
with John Meader, Northern Stars Planetarium
A guided tour of the evening's constellations, planets, and the Milky Way — pointing out meteors, satellites, and, if we were lucky, the aurora, with tips for fighting light pollution along the way.
A winter ecology story walk
Following Kate Messner's book, we explored the hidden "subnivean" world between the snow and the ground, then roasted marshmallows over a bonfire.
Inspired by the music, stories, and crafts that have historically brought joy to the seasonal rhythms of life in Maine — featuring artists and craftspeople who connect us to the history of the land.
Chris Moore · Jeff Christmas · Caroline Cotter & more
An intimate acoustic performance in the resonant, historic Farmhouse, where the audience hears the stories behind the songs.
ConcertAn eco-history tour and animal husbandry talk for all ages — sheep with lambs, shearing and spinning demos, and hands-on fiber crafts from the Tuttle farm.
Family · Eco-historyAn interpretive walk reading the Desert's history in its woodlands — aging trees, evidence of past logging, and the unique role lichens play in recovery.
Guided WalkOur first-ever outdoor film screening, projected under the open sky on the dunes — and it sold out.
Outdoor Filmwith Drive Train & caller Maggie Robinson
A concert and kitchen-junket contra dance in the Farmhouse — regional music in a historic venue.
DanceFine Pioneer · Kate McCann · Molly Gibbs · Melvin Gradiz
An intimate songwriters' circle in our 1800s farmhouse, four Southern Maine artists playing entirely unamplified.
ConcertJulia Bouwsma · Irene Drago · Jason Brown
A writing series exploring the entangled relationships between the ecological history of the land and our own personal and familial histories.
Writing SeriesThe founding member of Queens garage act The Beets returned to Maine for a standing-room-only "destination concert" in our historic Farmhouse.
ConcertHigh drama and low comedy on the dunes — magic, masked creatures, and evocative music performed live in the open landscape.
TheaterA vibrant duo channeling '50s and '60s pop and American Songbook standards through two voices, guitar, and violin.
ConcertChoose Your Own Musical Adventure
A bold rethinking of the classical experience, stationing musicians across the landscape and inviting the audience to take part.
ClassicalA rare solo performance from a New Orleans singer-songwriter steeped in jazz, folk, and pop — her debut concert in Maine.
ConcertDon't miss the next one