Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A pair of oxen return after delivering a log to the sawmill at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity on Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.The fleece tent filled with Maine fiber at the Common Ground Fair on Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Fairground visitors fill the exhibition hall at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity on Friday. The fair, now in its 48th year, runs for two more days. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Prize-winning vegetables earn admiration at Friday’s Common Ground Country Fair in Unity. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Two farmers market areas offer local organic produce at the Common Ground Fair on Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Young visitors try out giant hula hoops in the bicycle area of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s Common Ground Country Fair in Unity of Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A bicycle-powered blender at work at the Common Ground Fair in Unity on Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Common Ground Country Fair attendees try to ring the bell at the strongman game run by the Unity Fire Department on Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Kids sled — and roll — downhill on cardboard boxes in the children’s area at the Common Ground Fair in Unity on Friday. The fair filled with young visitors as school groups arrived for the day. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Goats greet visitors at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity on Friday. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN
Hundreds of people from across Maine and New England gathered in Unity on Friday for opening day of the 48th Common Ground Country Fair, organized by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
Along with farming and gardening topics, the fair features vendors and educational sessions on fiber, herbs, environmental issues, political causes, sustainable forestry, building skills, handcrafts and folk art at the three-day event. More than 1,000 exhibitors and speakers are present throughout the weekend event, which ends Sunday.
Market areas offer produce, shelf staples, seeds, soap, maple and birch syrup, herbal supplements, garden tools, books, clothing and more.
Friday’s keynote speech by Whitefield dairy farmer Annie Watson, which can be listened to on weru.org, addressed the many challenges Maine farmers face as they try to stay in business.
Saturday’s keynote by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson centers on her new interview-based book, “What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures,” which highlights ways to respond to climate change.
Sunday’s speaker Melissa Law, an organic farmer at Bumbleroot Farm in Windham, examines how changing climate patterns challenge farmers and explains how her farm is adapting.
Both weekend addresses begin at 11 a.m.
The fair is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Fair organizers said they are expanding Sunday programming this year, including the addition of a concert by the Maine-based duo The Oshima Brothers at 3:30 p.m.
