A week ago a few of us staff members here at SHF decided to take the 2 hour trip north to the 37th annual Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine. Created and hosted by M.O.F.G.A. the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, this fair is unlike any of which you have seen. 60,000 people gather at the fairgrounds each year for only three days and all the handmade goods, produce, food, and livestock are required to be organic and from Maine.
As big supporters here at SHF of keeping it local it was a feast for our senses, eyes and not to mention our bellies!
We parked about a mile up the road on grassy hilltop with incredible views just to quickly hop on a tractor pulled hayride to the fair grounds. The day was perfect with abundant sunshine and happy smiles everywhere.
Our first stop was to the produce building where there was every imaginable vegetable you could think of, from heirloom peppers, onions and melons to fresh cut specimen flowers and even mushrooms. All grown right here in Maine they covered the tables and benches waiting to be judged.
We left the vegetable pavilion and as we were walking towards vendors selling their produce. We were stopped in our tracks by the amazing tapestries, posters, and cards by the Beehive Design Collective http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/front.htm. from Machias, Maine. It's a completely grass-roots company harboring young talent and selling all their work by hand not through retail stores.
As we entered the organic produce field the great sign from Nettie Fox Farm made us chuckle. Not only did the sign make us stop but all their organic beautiful produce grown on their 25 acre C.O.F. in Newburgh, Maine including all the potatoes below. You can learn more about them here http://www.nettiefoxfarm.com/Nettie_Fox_Farm/Welcome.html.
I was told that I would be smelling and seeing 'Sweet Annie' everywhere and boy did I! Not knowing what this plant was all about I quickly learned that it was a type of Artemesia, Artemesia annua to be exact. This super fragrant herb was sold in bundles and fastened into floral crowns and bouquets offered for sale. It seemed almost every farmer was selling this herb in boatloads.
This was a new one for us as well. Yup golden chicken feet ornaments! I'm not kidding you and they were organic and only 5 bucks each!
Things really started to get interesting with the sheep herding demonstrations. It was captivating watching these Border Collies and other breeds of dogs heard groups of sheep all on presise command from their owners. They would stealthily move, run and stop on a dime. You can see a little clip of the action bellow.
It was onto the poultry house and the rare breeds being showcased there were all specimens and all raised organically. We have a ton of chickens and bantams here at the farm but there were some real beauties we had never seen!
Next stop was the fiber tent which contained loose fibers, hand-dyed yarn, and wares all made from wool harvested from sheep, alpacas, lamas, and angora rabbits.
In the fiber tent I came across the booth of Susan B and her company from Buckfield, Maine called Garden Fresh Designs http://gardenfreshdesigns.com/. These colorful flour sack towels and wares are a fun colorful representation of Susan's personality. We had a hoot especially when she was telling us about her mascot her Uncle Lloyd pictured above who was a cross-dressing Mainer back in the day! Expect to see these outstanding pieces in our shop real soon.
Now we were getting hungry yet again even after our first lunch. I couldn't resist by recommendation to have a Yogis Travelling Peekytoe crab meat roll. The awards that were proudly displayed next to his food truck was the first inclination that I was about to have something very special. I have to tell you this roll was heaping with fresh crab meat with a lite dressing and was out of this world! No additional fixings were needed just a organic toasted whole wheat homemade bun and delicious fresh Maine crab!
After the second lunch we had it was time to have a little fun. We stopped in the dancing tent to watch folks of all ages engage in a bit of ole country fun; contra dancing was the call of the day and oh so mesmerizing. You can see a little clip above of all the fun the participants had.
Speaking of good times one of the highlights of our day was to watch what seemed like a hundred kids slide and surf on cardboard boxes down a grassy knoll. There was a band playing in the background and the moment just captured so much joy for us watching all these young people having the time of their life!
There is a few things to be said about the Common Ground Fair. It was amazing to see a group of people, yes 60,000 folks gather together to celebrate organic local farming, gardening and community. It is a complete belief we hold so dear here at Snug Harbor Farm. We hold that aesthetic and truth to the core, keep it local, support your brothers and sisters and Maine is the place to be. It truly is the way life should be!
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