This last weekend was Common Ground, the annual fair put on by the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA). Their whole fairground is dedicated to stuff grown or made in Maine, so ~ in addition to the educational exhibits and serious stuff ~ there's lots and lots to look at: pottery, woodworking, baskets, produce, other foods, fiber.... Ah, the fiber ;-) My favorite part ~ but there's lots of organic wholesome goodness (warning ~ photo heavy) after the Great Orange Doodle.....
It's a wonderful display of the creativity going on around the state.
The social and political action tents are full of wonderful organizations doing good work ~ unions, peace activists, environmentalists, and so on....
The Waldo County Democrats have a great message:
The War Resisters League had a great display of bumper stickers for sale:
Think this will help? A machine stamps bills with a message about not bribing politicians ;-)
There are some more traditional fall fair elements ~ the exhibition hall features standard county fair contests:
It's Maine, so there are potatoes....
And other home-processed foods:
A quilt recycling old fair t-shirts:
Another tent is devoted to Native American crafts:
I mentioned fiber, didn't I?
The spinning group has been coming to the fair for almost four decades:
Fleece for processing into yarn:
A Romney we can actually like ~ Romney wool can actually be good to knit with:
Naturally dyed yarns:
And the animals the fleece comes from:
One of my favorite displays every year is from the Maine Heritage Orchard, part of MOFGA:
Even the food vendors get in on the progressive action:
A home brewing vendor:
And organically grown food to take home: