Insider Notebook: MOFGA, Black Box temporary stores pop up
Photo / Rebecca Milliken
A Very Vintage Holiday Popup opens today at The Black Box, 93 Washington Ave., Portland.
Missed the Common Ground Fair this year? It's coming to Freeport. At least for a few months.
The Maine Organic Country Store, operated by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, opened Nov. 6 at 48 Main St., in Freeport, and will be open until mid-January.
The store, which is in a multi-unit building owned by GWB LLC, sells MOFGA and Common Ground Country Fair merchandise, as well as products from the fair’s vendors and MOFGA-certified organic producers. The fair, which draws tens of thousands to Unity every September, was held virtually this year, and the store is a way for fair vendors to make up for some of their losses, organizers said.
“This store allows us to bring an idea we’ve had for several years to life,” said Sarah Alexander, MOFGA’s executive director. “Not having the Common Ground Country Fair as an in-person event this year prompted us to seek out alternative ways to offer merchandise and products from our vendors to the public.”
Participating businesses are based in Maine. The store's operators say it's a way for those who may not be familiar with some of the producers to get acquainted, as well as a way to make up for some of the lost income from this year’s Common Ground Country Fair. Store profits will go to MOFGA's year-round educational programming for farmers and gardeners. Common Ground Country Fair vendors are also selling goods online at fairstore.mofga.org until January.
The fair normally has an extensive vendor and farmers market area, with 160 farms, business and organizations participating last year.
Also on the temporary store front, The Black Box, at 93 Washington Ave., in Portland, continues to add start-up retail. The newest tenant is A Very Vintage Holiday Pop-Up, which opened this week in the end unit most recently occupied by Lewiston online shoe seller Rancourt & Co. The pop-up store, which sells vintage home goods, will be open until Dec. 31.
The store is a collaboration between Jennifer Bravo of VIAND Vintage and Portia Clark of Portia's Barn.
The five-unit building, made from shipping containers, aims to get retail startups off the ground.
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