September 1, 2020

Harold “Dusty” Dowse likes to share his vast knowledge in a variety of areas, as his authorship or co-authorship of over 50 papers in the natural sciences and his 40-year tenure at the University of Maine in Orono prove. These days he spends his time running his own bakery, Lammastide Bakers, in Cambridge, Maine; serving on the Common Ground Country Fair steering committee; and benefiting the Maine Grain Alliance as its education director and directing the Maine Artisan Bread Fair. For Common Ground, he is an area coordinator for bread baking, where 18 loaves at a time bake in a wood-fired oven bought with a grant from the Quimby Foundation and built by Maine Wood Heat. Fair volunteers enjoy the bread during the three meals per day served to them in the Common Kitchen.

June 29, 2020

The Common Ground Country Fair, MOFGA’s signature event, will be offered in an alternative format in 2020.

MOFGA's Common Ground Country Fair is going to look a little bit different this year. We'll be celebrating rural living at home. We're busy pulling together the content for this annual event and intend to have three days of live programming online September 25-27, 2020. Additionally, we'll have online educational offerings created by our community and available via a content library, a marketplace for vendors, beautiful Common Ground Country Fair merchandise, and much more. As always, we welcome volunteer support from our community to help us put on this new event. Stay tuned!

June 2020

If ever there was a shining example of living gently on the earth, Rose Whitehead is it. From her recumbent tricycle to her off-grid house, she definitely is walking the talk in this community of both die-hard, back-to-the-land, aging hippies and younger folks who embrace the organic farming and homesteading lifestyle. Whitehead sees MOFGA as the “yes” in a world with too many “no to this, no to that” attitudes. She says, “We should say ‘yes’ to the future because that feeds our energy rather than drains it as we do this work.”

June 2020

We are excited to welcome back Tami Colburn for her fifth season as our Common Ground Country Fair assistant. Colburn brings with her four full seasons of experience and a great work ethic and positive attitude. She will be answering phone calls for the Fair office and helping with many other tasks. Grateful to have you back, Tami!

June 2020

We are working with our volunteer Planning Team to make our first virtual Fair an engaging and vibrant event. If you have a skill or want to help but don’t have a lot of time, please consider a volunteer shift. Our specific volunteer needs will be posted soon on our website. Please contact Andrew Graham, MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair volunteer coordinator, at [email protected] or 207-568-4142 to inquire about virtual Fair volunteer opportunities.

June 1, 2020

A strong combination of nature, nurture and determination led Joy Grannis to create the winning design featuring native bee balm (Monarda didyma) flowers and honeybees for the 2020 Common Ground Country Fair art contest.