A Visit to The Common Ground Country Fair in Maine
Betsy Perreten, my stable manager, recently spent some vacation time visiting family members in Maine, saying that it was a very pleasant time. She had heard about the Common Ground Country Fair and decided to attend on opening day. This was the 36th Common Ground Country Fair, organized by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and held at the 200-acre grounds of the association headquarters in Unity, Maine. With the growing interest in organic farming, this fair has become very important and extremely popular. It brings together people from so many walks of life, all in the spirit of celebrating the rural and agricultural traditions of Maine. This year the fair drew 59,000 visitors and netted $300,000 in ticket sales and booth fees. That money pays for training programs for new farmers, workshops, and operating expenses. I hope you enjoy Betsy’s photos!
1 Fedco Trees is devoted to providing the hardiest and healthiest plants available for cold climates. Owner, John Bunker, has spent his life finding near-forgotten apple varieties in Maine. This table had 57 heirloom varieties that once flourished in that state.
2 Fedco Seeds is a great source for cold-hardy selections especially adapted to the demanding Northeast climate. http://www.fedcoseeds.com
3 Each year Fedco observes hundreds of varieties, selecting only the best seeds for inclusion in their catalogs.
4 Fedco also offers a large selection of fall-planted bulbs.
5 There were many wonderful organic animals on display in the barn, like Devon cattle.
6 Aroostock Highland is a very hardy breed of cattle, well-suited to the harsh Maine winters.
7 There were many heritage breed turkeys on display, like this Narragansett Tom.
8 Oxen have been invaluable to farmers for thousands of years. They are quiet and are willing to work long hours, asking for very little in return.
9 At country fairs, oxen pull competitions are very popular events.
10 The yoked teams pull weighed skids through an obstacle course as a demonstration of skill, power, and teamwork. This is a teenager with a team of young oxen.
11 Many organic farmers use horse power, rather than tractors, to get their farm work done. This was a demonstration of plowing a field the old-fashioned way.
12 Betsy made a point of stopping at David Lancaster's booth. David is the artist behind Heirloom Bowls and perhaps you remember seeing him on my TV show. Look carefully at the photo behind him. It was taken at the show! http://www.heirloombowls.com/
13 This is Peter Baldwin of Peter Baldwin Arts. http://www.peterbaldwinarts.com
14 Peter makes apple ladders for fruit picking.
15 This is Wini Noyes of Boxcraft located in Thorndike, Maine, specializing in nest boxes, planters, and window boxes. e-mail: boxcraft@uninets.net
16 Boxcraft also made this very unique bench.
17 An example of one of their occupied owl houses
18 Strawberry Hill Farms produces Maine pure organic maple syrup, maple candy, maple sugar, and maple cream. http://www.puremaple.com
19 It's always interesting watching a blacksmith busy at his trade.
20 There was lots of honey for sale.
21 Johnny's Selected Seeds is a privately held, employee-owned seed producer and merchant headquartered in Winslow, Maine. Their mission is helping families, friends, and communities to feed one another by providing superior seeds, tools, information, and services. http://www.johnnyseeds.com
22 The Stanley Museum in Kingfield, Maine commemorates and preserves the heritage of the Stanley family genius.
23 This is a model of the famous Steamer Steamer automobile.
24 And this is a Stanley steamed-powered motorcycle.
25 Restore The North Woods is devoted to restoring land that has been seriously damaged by industrial development. This is Ken Spalding. http://www.restore.org
26 Jym St. Pierre was asking visitors to sign a petition to fight a proposed East-West Highway and Utility Corridor across the state of Maine.
27 The food area offered many interesting choices.
28 These gals provided pleasant entertainment.
29 Eco-kids was a popular family booth. This is a line of art supplies made with non-toxic, natural ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging. http://www.ecokidsusa.com/
30 This is a Hobbit Hole by Wooden Wonders. They build playhouses, garden sheds, and other outdoor structures. http://www.wooden-wonders.com/
31 Mystic Woodworks makes especially beautiful cutting boards. http://www.mysticwoodworks.com
32 There is no midway at this fair and children find other means of entertainment.
33 Maine Cycle Carts makes bicycle trailers and wheelbarrows inspired by old farm machinery and modern engineering. http://mainecyclecarts.com/
34 Roots, Coops, & More offers really great chicken coops. This small, family owned business is striving to become more self sustainable and encourages others to do the same. http://www.rootscoopsandmore.com
35 Dancing Bee Gardens offers raw natural honey and bee products. http://www.dancingbeegardens.com/
36 Shelter Tools offers fine hard-to-find woodworking tools.
37 Scythe Supply's mission is to introduce the rewards of using a scythe for mowing, clearing, and harvesting. http://www.scythesupply.com/
38 The Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC) was there demonstrating how to harvest and clean vegetable seeds. They had various machines doing just that. http://eorganic.info/group/5751
39 And for those not interested in horse-power...
40 There were tractor attachments on view.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
"There is no midway at this fair and children find other means of entertainment."
Oh! I dream of fairs like this!
We recently moved to a rural area out west and I heard about our fair. I had high hopes, but left disappointed. I brought my 3 boys and we were greeted by, let's just call it "teenage" music (though I know that's a generalization) blaring from the midway.
We headed immediately for the Fun on the Farm Exhibit. My boys were introduced to fake chicks backed up by a cd playing "chick" sounds. When I mentioned chickens running around outside of the barn, the 4H boy laughed and said "oh yeah, like free-range." Like that was a joke! At the end they were given artificially flavoured/coloured yoghurt as their authentic farm snack. I left so sad!
Posted by: Kelly | September 28th, 2012 at 2:38 am
Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures Betsy, the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine looked like it was not only fun but informative as well! Judging by everyone's dress it appeared to be crisp weather, perfect for going to a fair! I love that they offered other types of entertainment for the children besides the usual games of chance. I'm very pleased to hear many organic farmers prefer horse power to tractors, even better for the environment!
Posted by: Cindy F | September 28th, 2012 at 6:58 am
Betsy thanks for sharing your photos.
Posted by: KLBrown | September 28th, 2012 at 8:05 am
Looks likes you had a great time at the fair Betsy, very nice and interesting images. Thank you for sharing. Have a great weekend
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | September 28th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Hi Martha, How thoughtful of you to share Betsy's terrific photos of her great trip to Maine to visit her her family members! She is an awesome stabler at your Bedford farm and did a great job sharing this delightful trip with us! Betsy, you must have had a marvelous time going to the Common Ground County Fair in Maine! Everyone of your photos is great and I sure would love to go to that fair someday, also! Even the kids visiting had a blast! How fun it would be to collect many of the seeds, plant bulbs, and garden tools, etc.! Your photos of the organic animals are fantastic and everyone one of them is beautiful to see! The organic farmer sure does a great job with the horses! How great to see David Lancaster with his beautiful wooden bowls! I recall seeing him on Martha's TV show and that was fabulous! All of the other crafty photos were special, also! Even the food area was great and bet you enjoyed that, too! That chicken coop would be great in a small yard-fabulous and safe! How great to see how to harvest and clean vegetable seeds, too! Thanks again, Betsy, and hope you have another great day and a terrific weekend and please wish the same to Martha! Off to see The Daily Wag about "Looking for Autumn Flowers!" Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | September 28th, 2012 at 10:04 am
I really enjoyed the pictures Betsy - this is also my kind of fair. Those apple ladders are something else and so are the crafts from Boxcraft and how neat those bicycle-powered garden carts are! I wonder if they use them for grocery shopping too. Thanks for sharing and for providing the web addresses to some interesting sites which I’ve already checked out. Anyone using one of those scythes would sure get a work out and although effective for the job, they’re kind of scary looking. Thanks again. Trish
Posted by: Trish | September 28th, 2012 at 10:26 am
Hi, Martha and Betsy:
So enjoyed the pictures and captions - felt like I was there! I just love those little hairy cows! Over time, I have seen you feature a remarkable number of people, artisans, horticulturists, associations, fairs and other gatherings dedicated to conservation, preservation, and a clean, caring, quality of life. You are indeed an educator as you keep them and all their important efforts at the forefront of our thinking so we can learn, too. Thank you both!
Posted by: Bobbie | September 28th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Truly an old-fashioned fair. I'll have to watch for it next year .Thanks for the great photos. Not sure how you have enough time in the day!
Posted by: Nantucket Daffodil | September 28th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
The Aroostock Highland reminds me of someone I dated in the 60's.
Posted by: Martha in KS | September 28th, 2012 at 7:48 pm
We were at the Common Ground Fair. we stay at our sons cabin,(one hundred years old ),outside of Clifton,outside of Brewer,outside of Bangor.on Parks Pond. Had a great time there this year, had never stayed in October, little chilly for these Floridians, but beautiful. we saw and petted Alpacas at a farm at the entrance to the fair. fun fun!
Posted by: Becky Cermak | September 30th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Wow, I just love the organic fair idea. This is something that we are sorely lacking my neck of the woods. I guess I will live vicariously through your blog for now? Ah well, perhaps I will host a small organic fair for my children from the backyard garden. Now...do I dress them in trendy clothes or like farmers...hmm... decisions decisions.Thank you so much for sharing.
Posted by: Robin | September 30th, 2012 at 5:08 pm
can't find you on Hallmark - The Martha Stewart Show...........whats up. Can't find anything about it on your web page - nothing. no times, not dates.....have been out of touch for summer. Are you on TV with Martha Stewart Show
Posted by: Terry Fest | September 30th, 2012 at 7:11 pm
That table of heritage apples was amazingly beautiful. I think you've done quite a lot on apples in Living, but I could totally see a feature on these beautiful heirloom apples with all of the different varieties lined up like that for the opening spread.
Posted by: Darryl Moland | October 1st, 2012 at 10:43 am
We love The Martha Stewart Show! ! We want to see it every day!
Posted by: Carol Ersland | October 1st, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I love THE Martha Stewart Show.
Posted by: Rhoda Ritchey | October 2nd, 2012 at 5:41 am
So sad to see you are no longer on Hallmark ---- am a huge fan and have been called "Martha wannabe" for many yrs.
Posted by: gaye lineberry | October 3rd, 2012 at 3:05 pm
The young lady in picture 10 is my daughter! She is only 11 years old. Her oxen are 4 years old. We are very proud of her, she was voted Common Ground Ox Teamster demonstrator of the year. Great picture!
Posted by: Tanya Chadwick | October 15th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
I celebrate your celebration of all of these small family businesses. Gifts! You are giving these people the gift of recognition of their craft on your popular blog. It's so beautiful.
Posted by: Karen | October 20th, 2012 at 3:08 pm