Destination: The annual Common Ground Fair in Unity, ME.
Best of Show: The pasture-raised pork from Tide Mill Organic Farm
The Common Ground Fair is just about the antithesis of the Big E (see last week). It is smaller and quirky, in its own way. But the biggest difference is that it is hosted by MOFGA, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, and so is a venue exclusively for organic and sustainable agriculture.
MOFGA has a number of fearless farmers growing produce that you probably never heard of and that you'll probably never see on the shelf at Stop & Shop, like the German Beer Radishes pictured here. That's one of the best things about coming to these events.
This year was the 30th annual Common Ground Fair. It has grown quite a lot since Lorna and I first visited it in 2001. Then is was certainly smaller, and the organic farmers and other vendors there were more likely to be the pioneers of the movement, the true believers making it happen in a difficult business environment.
The 2010 fair was much, much larger: 60,000 people were expected! There was a three-mile wait to park on Saturday afternoon, and then a 10-minute walk along a muddy woodland path after we'd parked. It was much further than when we'd parked for the Big E the previous week. The fairgrounds were filled to overflowing, and it was clear that today's organic farmers include among their ranks more of the business-oriented entrepreneurs and fewer of the quirky pioneers of nine years ago. I guess that's to be expected when the First Lady keeps an organic garden and high-fructose corn syrup is so unwelcome that the industry wants to rename it something more wholesome like corn sugar.
In the end, we felt it suffered in comparison to the quirky little fair of a decade ago, but it is certainly exciting news that an organic foods fair could feel like a trade show!
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