Common Ground Fair
Common Ground Fair
The grounds of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s Unity campus are transformed into a small village the third full weekend after Labor Day when tens of thousands of fairgoers arrive for the annual Common Ground Country Fair.
With roots in the back-to-the-land movement, the Common Ground Fair is an agricultural fair, but it’s hardly a typical one. Instead of midway rides and corn dogs, fairgoers will find rows of compost toilets, vendors selling tofu fries and organic catnip, and classes on everything from directional tree felling with a chainsaw to horse massage. The annual guide to the fair typically tops 50 pages and includes not just a map of the grounds and schedule of events, but instructions to fairgoers for filling reusable water bottles with free water, what to do if you get separated from who you came with, and what can and cannot be placed in its “zero garbage” recycling and composting receptacles.
The fair began in the late 1970s to bring together people with a growing interest in organic farming, gardening, and sustainable living practices. In the five decades since, its distinctive atmosphere and its reputation as a place where new ideas about farming, food, soil health, and self-reliance flourish have helped make it one of the largest organic agricultural fairs in the United States. But it hasn’t lost its tight-knit community feel; many volunteers, exhibitors, and families who have attended for generations plan their year around the fair.
Author: Stephanie Bouchard
