2002 Fair Page

Volunteer for the 2002 Common Ground Country Fair

Share your skills or learn something new as a volunteer at the 2002 Common Ground Country Fair. We need hundreds of volunteers for our annual celebration of rural living. The Fair dates are September 20, 21 & 22. MOFGA also seeks volunteers for set-up (September 14 - 19) and clean-up (September 23 - October 6). For each four-hour shift, volunteers earn free admission to the Fair and a volunteer T-shirt. Additional shifts earn additional benefits.

Volunteers are the core of the unique community atmosphere at the Common Ground Country Fair. What do they do? Everything. A short list includes: organize events year round, write advance articles, paint signs, mark booth spaces, build shelves, prepare meals, paint kids’ faces, move and distribute equipment and supplies, put up fences and shelving, make costumes for kids to wear in the Garden Parade, help kids dress up for the Garden Parade, collect and sort trash, announce events, park cars, give information, coordinate other volunteers, staff the exhibition hall, dismantle the entire Fair and pack everything up for next year -- in short, just about anything and everything necessary to make the Common Ground Country Fair happen.

To receive a volunteer registration form click here, or send your name and address to Common Ground Country Fair Volunteers, PO Box 170, Unity, ME 04988, or call 207-568-4142.

Help Publicize This Year's Fair

Would you like to help us publicize this year's Common Ground Country Fair? We will begin distributing posters for the 2001 Fair soon, and we need names and locations of good public viewing locales. If you have any suggestions, or if you would like to help us deliver posters, give us a call at 568-4142, or email us. Thanks!

Agricultural Demonstrations and Workshops Being Planned For 2002 Fair

Volunteers who coordinate Agricultural Demonstrations at Common Ground are starting to line up speakers and demonstrators for this year's Fair. Last year we had an absolutely wonderful assortment of farmers and other agricultural professionals who shared with fairgoers their vast knowledge and expertise. We know that the offerings will get better as the years go by thanks to the participation of MOFGA's farming and gardening community and the on-site resources at MOFGA's home in Unity.

If you have an idea for an demonstration or talk, please contact the Fair office with a suggestion, request, or offer to coordinate a presentation. We really would like to hear from you. Please contact us soon so that we can list your presentation in this year's Fairbook.

School Groups Wanted to Help With Fair Clean-up

When the Fair is over and most people have gone home, a great deal of work remains to be done. Volunteers for clean-up are very special folks whom we hold in extra-high esteem. For the past couple of years, school groups have attended the Fair free during the weekend and returned after the Fair to help with some of the major clean-up projects. If you are a teacher or student and would like to pitch in, please let us know. We will provide a meal and a volunteer t-shirt for each student on the day of his or her volunteer shift. Volunteering for clean-up allows students plenty of time to explore the Fair during the weekend. We appreciate any help you can give.

Help Us On Our Way to Zero Garbage!

Common Ground Country Fair is unique in many ways, not the least of which is its dedication to minimizing waste. Our Zero Garbage Program is a shining example of what dedicated volunteers can accomplish when they set their minds, hearts and bodies to it.

Each year, dozens of volunteers work tirelessly in the Recycling Tent to meticulously separate waste from every single bag of garbage on the fairgrounds. They find some pretty interesting things along the way, and end up with material for MOFGA's compost windrows, which help nurture and beautify the gardens on the property. Our best recovery rate to date was 92%, which is really impressive when one considers that it was all done by volunteer labor and represented some 17 tons of waste.

We are always looking for more help in the Recycling Tent, and we especially need someone to join the Planning Team as a Composting & Recycling Co-coordinator. If you are interested, please don't hesitate to contact the Fair office. Thanks!

Booth Spaces Still Available for Agricultural Products and Services

While most areas of this year's Fair are well booked, some spaces remain available in the Agricultural Booths Area. The purpose of this area is to present and promote family farms selling agricultural products and suppliers of goods used in agricultural production. The Fair welcomes non-farm businesses with agricultural interests. Spaces are reserved for residents of Maine, although exceptions are made occasionally for vendors of agricultural products or services currently unavailable from Maine-based businesses. If you would like to apply for a space in the Agricultural Booth Area, don't hesitate to contact the Fair office for an application. We look forward to hearing from you.