LUNENBURG -- Residents are trying to stop a four-day music and meditation festival from being held next month.

On May 16, selectmen granted the nonprofit Unifier Festival a temporary license for an all-ages, interfaith, and substances-free event at 300 Holman St. from June 22 to 25.

The festival has drawn support from those planning to attend. But a "super majority" of Holman Street residents want nothing to do with it, said Steven Whitman, of 473 Holman St.

"We're looking for the Board of Selectmen to rescind the license," said Whitman, formerly the director of the Department of Public Works in Leominster and founder of the civil engineering firm Whitman & Bingham Associates.

In its fourth year, Unifier Festival organizes "sacred celebrations" featuring yoga, music, dance, live art, and spaces for "interfaith ceremony" and permaculture, according to festival literature.

Jason Cohen, festival curator, stressed that the attendees have a reverence for land and community.

"There are hippie festivals where people come in and make places less beautiful, but that's not what we're doing," said Cohen. "We don't want to disturb you if you live three or four houses down."

In a certified letter dated May 20, Whitman wrote selectmen and Holman Street homeowners have retained a lawyer to pursue avenues for blocking the festival.

"Never have I witnessed such an arbitrary and capricious decision by a town or city board such as this one," Whitman wrote.

UMass Memorial psychiatrist Daron C. Massey owns the nearly 35-acre property at 300 Holman St. where the event is planned.

Cohen said Massey attended a past Unifier event. Massey volunteered to let Unifier use his land this year while organizers close a deal on a permanent property in Tolland, Cohen said.

Leominster attorney John Dombrowski is representing the 15 Holman Street homeowners aiming to halt Unifier, Dombrowski said.

They say their rural enclave cannot support the expected 500 attendees and their 250 cars.

"I have nothing against festivals or whatnot, but this is in a residential area," said Eric Blomgren, of 272 Holman St., who added his wife, a nurse, would be disturbed with noise from the festival.

The Board of Selectmen and town manager, homeowners allege, made a procedural error during the permitting process.

According to homeowners, Town Manager Heather Lemieux should have notified homeowners via mail of two May meetings when festival organizers appeared before the Board of Selectmen seeking the permit.

Advance notification would have allowed abutters to attend the meetings and voice opposition to the festival, according to several abutters.

"I have no idea why you would permit 500 people to camp by my house and not give any notice about the presentation," said Eric Short, of 502 Holman St.

The hearing was posted in advance on the town website in accordance with open meeting laws, said Lemieux.

Selectmen Clerk Paula Bertram, at last Tuesday's meeting where two abutters spoke against the event, said festival organizers addressed all health and safety concerns had by the Conservation Commission, Nashoba Board of Health, and town Fire and Police Chiefs.

Bertram said selectmen are open to reviewing abutters' concerns. She said she is not inclined to revoke the entertainment license.

"If by procedural error we made a mistake, we erred, then we will correct that error," said Bertram.

Festival opponents and proponents may get the chance to hash out their differences at a special selectmen meeting tentatively scheduled for June 6, said Lemieux.

Lemieux said town officials must consult with the town's attorney before confirming that date.

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Lunenburg neighbors call on town to stop music-meditation fest - Sentinel & Enterprise