Farming, forestry and fishing — the three Fs of agriculture — make up a tiny slice of Maine’s commercial life, generating 1.3% of the state’s economic output. Small potatoes, as it were, but higher than the nationwide average of 0.9%.
Whatever the numbers say, the cultivation of food occupies an outsized place in the state’s consciousness. Most Mainers are only one or two degrees of separation away from the lobstering, livestock, dairy, crop-producing or berry-growing industries. Each year, from June through early October, Mainers can flex their farming muscles at more than two dozen agriculture fairs spotted around the state.
Showcasing the past, present and future of the agribusiness, the events also serve up a goodly portion of fun and games. I visited four fairs in the 2023 season — up north in Presque Isle, in the midcoast town of Union, in centrally located Unity and in Fryeburg near the New Hampshire border — and came back with these images.
Photo / Jim Neuger
ANIMAL KINGDOM: Whether on four legs, or with two legs and two wings, animals preen, graze, compete and generally hang out at every fair. The yoked creatures mugging for the camera at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity are American Milking Devons, owned by Kim Winslow of Marston Homestead Farm. The breed descends from the first cattle imported into British North America in the early 17th century.
Photo / Jim Neuger
ANIMAL KINGDOM: Also at Common Ground, Stephen Lee of Sandy Stream Farm milks one of his goats and is photobombed by another.
Photo / Jim Neuger
CHILD’S PLAY: Fairs cultivate future cultivators, with events such as chicken beauty pageants and baking contests, along with instructional activities on how, for example, to grow vegetables and market them. At the Union Fair in Union, a farmer-to-be gazes at poultry, and the poultry gazes back.
Photo / Jim Neuger
CHILD’S PLAY: Close to the Canadian border at the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle, a young reader learns about maple syrup in a book from the treehouse library at the “Lil’ Lumberjacks” installation — an exhibit that won a nationwide first place medal in 2023 as an innovative educational program.
Photo / Jim Neuger
THRILL OF VICTORY: Tests of speed, strength, agility and endurance — of animal and human athletes — are fair traditions. Mareea Decker takes a victory lap with her sheep Dally after winning the junior sheep trials at the Union Fair.
Photo / Jim Neuger
THRILL OF VICTORY: One of the highlights of the Fryeburg Fair is Woodsmen’s Field Day, an Olympics for woodchoppers, chainsaw wielders, axe-throwers and more -- 28 events in all. Heaving the log toward the finish line is Ashley Severy, a regular in woodswomen’s competitions who is attracted to the sport because, she says, “it’s so rooted in New England.”
Photo / Jim Neuger
ANCIENT ARTS: It’s hard to find a good blacksmith when you need one these days, lending a sense of nostalgia to scenes like the horseshoe-forging demonstration in Presque Isle, a fair with origins in 1851.
Photo / Jim Neuger
ANCIENT ARTS: The least common of Maine’s agricultural exhibitions is, ironically, the Common Ground fair, first held in 1977. Not only is pottery-making on the menu, but also yoga, mindfulness, herbalist presentations and environmental and social activism.
Photo / Jim Neuger
FEEDING TIME: Fried foods -- often sold by vendors that work the regional or national circuit — are the choice of serious gourmands at Maine’s fairs, as in Fryeburg which debuted in 1851.
Photo / Jim Neuger
FEEDING TIME: Common Ground takes a different tack, requiring the use of locally grown organic ingredients at food stalls and featuring farmers markets that peddle all things organic, including rare seeds and heirloom fruits.
Photo / Jim Neuger
FUN ZONE: The house usually wins at the carnival games that dot the midway of each fair, but not always. At the Union Fair, which has roots going back to 1869, Mainers Courtney Russo (left) and Mikaela Slagger flaunt their take-home trophies.
Photo / Jim Neuger
FUN ZONE: Not all of the entertainment is on the ground. For those wishing to test their centrifugal skills, rides like the whirly experience in Fryeburg — the largest fair in the state and the grand finale of every season — are always an option.
0 Comments