Common Ground Country Fair

The fair began in 1977 in Litchfield, Maine. In 1981, it moved to Windsor, Maine and in 1996, MOFGA purchased 200 acres in Unity, Maine, where the fair now takes place yearly. The first fair was held at the Litchfield Fairgrounds as a fundraiser for MOFGA. It raised $22,000.In 1989, Hurricane Hugo flooded the fairgrounds and delayed the Saturday opening. Coffee sales were not offered at the fair for many decades. By 2011 vendors could sell organic, fair-trade coffee. For the first time in 2017, the fair was powered entirely by alternative sources, including a 102-Kilowatt solar array, a series of heat pumps and a small wind turbine. In May 2020, MOFGA announced the fair wouldn't take place for the first time since its inception due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fair director April Bouchard said in a statement the cancellation "allows us to begin planning a marquee virtual event." Turnout for the fair had been falling in the years before the Covid pandemic, but has since rebounded and reached an all-time high of more than 70,000 attendees in 2024. == Fair atmosphere ==

The fair commonly features traditional skills demonstrations, alternative energy demonstrations, handicraft vendors, farmers markets, and food courts selling a range of organic foods. The fair is also host to a large number of political groups and activists. In 2009, there were 64 political or social activism groups in attendance. In 2012, Anne Raver of The New York Times visited the fair and wrote: "The fair is a grand celebration not only for organic growers, but also for spinners and weavers; woodworkers and jewelry-makers; drovers of oxen, horses and mules; and sheep herders and their dogs. Not to mention poets and fiddlers, reflexologists and herbalists, solar and wind power gurus, seed savers and worm-keepers." The Times also noted: "It wasn’t the toasty smell of cotton candy that filled the air; it was the fruity fragrance of sweet Annie (Artemisia annua), a European herb that can self-seed in the garden like an invading army. Women old and young wore golden crowns of it on their heads." In 2013, the Portland Press Herald reported: "Instead of the typical fair staples such as cotton candy and carnival rides, the Common Ground Country Fair draws crowds seeking veggie burgers and workshops on worm composting." The fair is known for its numerous vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Vegan columnist Avery Yale Kamila wrote in 2014: "for vegetarians there is no contest when it comes to the agricultural event with the largest selection of meat-free options. The Common Ground Country Fair wins the blue ribbon for consistent veg-friendliness year after year." The Maine Campus newspaper wrote in 2019 the fair "has significantly more vegan and vegetarian options than an average fair." == Keynote speakers ==

Each day of the fair features one keynote address plus hundreds of other speeches, talks, panel discussions, demonstrations and other educational events. Some past keynote addresses at the Common Ground Country Fair were delivered by: Wendell Berry, Scott Nearing, Helen Nearing, Elliot Coleman, Vandana Shiva, Will Bonsall, Kent Whealy, Jim Hightower, Ross Gelbspan, Percy Schmeiser. == Poster art & competition ==

MOFGA holds an annual competition for the artwork to be featured on the next year's fair poster and merchandise. Maine residents and MOFGA members can enter the contest. In 1987, the featured artwork was from Dahlov Ipcar. The 2011 poster was a still life oil painting of canned goods by Dacia Klinkerch. In 2014, Kate Seaver's medicinal herb drawing won the competition. The 2018 poster was a painting of two kunekune pigs by Arika von Edler, who painted them to highlight livestock not being raised for meat. ==References==