Common Ground Country Fair will be in-person — if volunteers step up
Courtesy / MOFGA
The Common Ground Country Fair will be back to being a live event this year, if enough volunteers sign up to help.
The Common Ground Country Fair, held annually in September by the Maine Organic Farmer & Gardeners Association, will be held live this year at the organization's Unity fairgrounds — provided it can muster the volunteer power to run the three-day event.
The fair, which features organic food vendors, craft sellers, speakers on rural life, and more from around the state, is scheduled for Sept. 24-26. This year's fair, the 44th, will have attendance limits, require masks for all participants, have touchless payment systems, additional space between vendors to allow social distancing and increased sanitation in high-touch areas. At the same time, it will forgo some of the traditional events.
"The safety of our community remains our top priority," April Boucher, fair director, said in a news release. "We would not be planning this event if we did not believe we could support a safe experience for all involved."
But all this would depend on a network of volunteers. In 2019, the fair had 1,512 volunteers who filled 2,579 shifts for approximately 9,249 volunteer hours, according to MOFGA's fair timeline. MOFGA estimates it will need 2,000 or more to run the 2021 fair and is looking for commitments from volunteers.
Despite that uncertainty, the fair is making the announcement now, because, as the growing season begins, organic farmers have to be able to plan.
"One of the most loved aspects of the fair is the food, including the two all-organic farmers’ markets and many food booths that showcase Maine’s organic products," Boucher said. "This advance planning is important for organic farmers throughout the state who need a level of assurance of this major market at this time in the cropping season."
"We are committed to making this event safe and will rely on you as a member of our community to help make that a reality this year," she said.
Much interest, but hesitance
The 2020 fair was an online event, including a marketplace that ran through January. The 2019 fair had 58,028 attendees and featured 775 educational workshops, demonstrations and performances by artists. The Common Kitchen served more than 7,000 meals throughout setup, the fair itself and the cleanup.
Survey responses show there's a great deal of interest in gathering in person, but also hesitance among those who attend or participate in the fair, she said.
The decision to hold a live event came after months of discussions, research and planning, including "months-long conversations with staff and volunteers," survey results from nearly 4,000 respondents, Maine Center for Disease Control and Maine Department of Economic and Community Development guidelines for outdoor festivals and talking to organizers of other festivals, Boucher said.
Boucher said organizers are committed to providing the same quality of the fair, despite the restrictions. "Educational talks and demonstrations on organic production and sustainable living are at the core of the fair experience," she said. "We are committed to continuing this and offering a high-quality event with safety in mind."
MOFGA will have updates to the status of the fair on its website throughout the spring and summer.
The fair, which celebrates organic farming and gardening and rural life, began in 1977 in Litchfield as a MOFGA fundraiser. It took place in Windsor from 1981 to 1995, and has been held on MOFGA's 200 acres in Unity since then. Since 2017, it has been fully powered by alternative energy, including a 102-kilowatt solar array, heat pumps and a wind turbine.
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