Pandemic may mean bleak season for Maine's longstanding agricultural fairs

FILE PHOTO / Peter Van Allen The Common Ground Country Fair, where this post-and-beam building demonstration was held, is back to being a live event this year.

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By William Hall

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Maine’s agricultural fairs — the traditional festivals of farming, commerce and community that in some seasons together draw nearly 1 million attendees — may have a bitter harvest this fall.

The Common Ground Country Fair, scheduled for Sept. 25-27 in Unity, on Tuesday said it is canceling this year’s event because of coronavirus concerns. A “virtual fair” may take its place, according to a website post by Common Ground’s organizer, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, but the group did not provide details.

“Our decision about the fair was not taken lightly and is the product of feedback from our community, direction from our state’s administration and facts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” MOFGA said in the post.

The fair typically attracts 50,000 to 60,000 attendees, who come for agricultural demonstrations, talks, livestock shows, carnival rides, music performances and other activities. Then there are the vendors and exhibitors displaying their wares; last year, 160 farms, businesses and organizations participated in the fair.

“We recognize the important role the fair plays in connecting with each other, sharing knowledge, supporting our local economy, creating access to organic food, and extending MOFGA’s year-round work,” MOFGA said.

Common Ground isn’t the only Maine fair changing plans in response to the pandemic and restrictions by Gov. Janet Mills on large public gatherings.

Eleven of the state’s 25 agricultural fairs have now canceled their plans this year, according to the Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs.

Others, including the Bangor State Fair, Cumberland Fair and Fryeburg Fair, are “continuing to evaluate the situation following guidelines as set forward by the Maine CDC and the Office of the Governor,” the association said in a news release Saturday.

Agricultural fairs in Maine run from July to October and have long been a staple in the life of many rural areas. The oldest fair in Maine, the Skowhegan State Fair, is also the oldest in the U.S., dating to 1818. Fryeburg, which was first held in 1851, is one of the most heavily attended fairs, usually drawing around 300,000 visitors.

Both the Skowhegan (Aug. 13-22) and Fryeburg (Oct. 4-11) events are still tentatively scheduled to take place, although Fryeburg Fair organizers say they’ll make a decision about this in early June.

In 2006, Maine's agricultural fairs drew 850,000 paid attendees, 20,000 livestock heads, and 21,000 agricultural exhibits, according to the Houlton Agricultural Fair website.