Category: Fair

English photo. By Dennis Merrill Chair, Common Ground Country Fair Steering Committee “You need to sell shirts made in the U.S.” At the 2003 Common Ground Fair’s Country Store, we heard this comment several times. Good point. After all, one of MOFGA’s objectives is to support local production, and if not local, why not U.S.

Thirty Years at the Fair by John Bunker, MOFGA President Copyright 2006 One way or another, whenever September rolls around, I find myself at the Fair. Although I’ve never served as Fair Director or been on the Fair Steering Committee, I have had the privilege of participating in a number of different ways, and the

The Stone Workers Guild began work on the first pocket park at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center at the 2006 Fair. English photo. Since 1985, a group of stoneworkers has gathered at the Common Ground Country Fair to demonstrate and educate the public about the versatility and creative possibilities of stone.  In 1996, these people

Amy LeBlanc told Common Ground Fairgoers about her experiences on her small farm … with both crops and kids. English photo. Or, Why I Put Up with Teenagers Working in My Greenhouse! by Amy LeBlanc Pickles and teenagers took center stage on September 21, 2007, when long-time MOFGA farmer Amy LeBlanc of Whitehill Farm in

Rep. Hannah Pingree told the audience during her keynote speech at the Common Ground Country Fair that toxic compounds are common in all our bodies, but that we can take important steps to rid ourselves and our environment of these compounds. Hannah Pingree, of North Haven, is the Majority Leader of the Maine House of

Ted Ames (shown with his wife, Robin Alden) believes that Maine’s fisheries need to be approached in ways similar to Maine’s organic agriculture in order to survive. English photo. On Sunday, September 23, at MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair, Ted Ames discussed parallels between organic farming and community-based fisheries in his keynote address to fairgoers.

Heather Spalding and Elizabeth Sugg in their organic cotton shirts. by Alex Owre All T-shirts sold at the Common Ground Country Store and supplied to Fair volunteers are made from certified organic cotton grown in Texas. The 810 dozen on hand for this year’s Fair represent approximately eight bales of ginned cotton (cotton with bulbs,

In his keynote speech, John Bunker talked about the history of the apple trees of Palermo, Maine, and about his history with those trees. He noted: “As we navigate into the future, our rich agricultural past can guide us, and with the tremendous challenges ahead, trees become more relevant than ever. When we plant any

In his keynote speech, Gary Paul Nabhan said that many of the so-called “local” foods he sees in the Southwest are addicted to fossil fuels and fossil water. He sees communities like those of MOFGA as building blocks that balance local with fair trade between watersheds. English photo. Keynote Speech, Common Ground Country Fair, Sept.