The signature summer event in the County is the Maine Potato Blossom Festival, which celebrates the state’s billion-plus-dollar industry. In his photo essay, Fred Field shares the fun.
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“The County” is a moniker often used when speaking of Maine’s Aroostook County. The bold claim may be justified by the fact that Aroostook is the largest county east of the Mississippi River.
The signature summer celebration in the County is the nine-day Maine Potato Blossom Festival. The potato is king here and the festival’s signature event is the parade through downtown Fort Fairfield. The parade has an agrarian feel befitting this agricultural county.
Maine’s potato industry had an estimated $1.3 billion in output in 2022, according to a March 2024 technical report by University of Maine professor Todd Gabe. Of the Maine land devoted to the growing of potatoes, 91% is in the County.
The view down Fort Fairfield’s Main Street shows truly impressive tractors, some costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Shortly after the parade ended, an Amish gentleman named Mose used a pair of draft horses to disc harrow his land, also in Fort Fairfield. The contrast between very old and very new and very expensive versus very inexpensive couldn’t be more stark. This is part of the charm in the County where the very old and very new meld seamlessly with the common denominators of farm, family, hard work, tradition and grit.
“The festival is a great opportunity for folks to come up and experience what the County is all about,” says Timothy Goff, Fort Fairfield’s town manager.
“Friendly folks, celebrating our agricultural roots, having some fun competing in events like mashed potato wrestling against our friends and neighbors, enjoying some music in great weather while having some food and a beer.
“It really is a tremendous event that injects life into our community, helps our economy and is a major fundraising opportunity for numerous nonprofit organizations. I think events like this help make the County more accessible to folks who are looking for a chance to experience a part of the country that is truly unique.”
