What's Happening in Maine

Today we went to the Common Ground Fair, an annual event in its 36th year that is quite a big deal around these parts. A state fair on steroids, it is sponsored by and aimed at Maine's organic farmers. It took us an hour and a half to drive there, and that's not counting the time we spent getting lost on the way. Happily the weather was perfect, which was fortunate since the parking lot was a big open field about a mile from the fairgrounds, and it would have been a muddy walk in the rain.

Just about everything was for sale at this fair....

On the way in, and while we were there, every person we met who was associated with the fair in any way told us to "Have a nice fair!" On the way out, those very same people told us to "Enjoy the rest of your day." I found that odd, and wondered how they could tell we were leaving for good and weren't just going to get something from our car.

Besides the usual pottery, jewelry, furniture and kids for sale (see photo), there were sheep being sheared and ladies spinning yarn and cows and pigs and ducks and several buildings full of caged bunnies and chickens being judged. One cute little chicken had a sign on his cage that read: Pale Lobes. I was not sure where his lobes were so I couldn't agree or disagree, but apparently pale lobes in a chicken are bad, since he had not won any ribbons. He seemed depressed about it, too. Not far from him, another perfectly sized chicken, at least to my eye, had a note on his cage declaring he was "Nice, But Large." (Those chicken judges are brutal.)

There was a lot of information being handed out on composting and pump toilets and solar panels and survival skills and shelters and green living. One could learn how to make a teepee. In one tent there was a fiddling workshop and in another a man was demonstrating Rekei, whatever that is. Nearby there was a psychic who claimed to have strong crystals that could fix what ails you.

Among the foods being sold was that old fair standby, fried dough, which I have never tasted. I just cannot figure out the appeal of that item, but it seemed to be quite popular. I did have a slice of kale pizza and some butternut squash soup, and part of a grass-fed cheeseburger. Every item seemed to have cost five dollars no matter what it was. As we were leaving we bought two cloves of garlic which came to $2.75. That seemed expensive, but it was after all organic garlic, and it was a beautiful day.