Some costumed participants in the Garden Parade at the 2022 Common Ground Country Fair in Unity. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel, file The 48th annual Common Ground Country Fair kicks off Friday in Unity for a three-day celebration of agriculture and sustainability. The event typically draws tens of thousands of visitors to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity.
This year’s fair features hundreds of educational presentations, including keynote talks from speakers Annie Watson, organic dairy farmer at Sheepscot Valley Farm in Whitefield; Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, scientist and author of “What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures,” and Melissa Law, farmer and co-owner of Bumbleroot Organic Farm in Windham and agriculture representative to the Maine Climate Council. Fair attractions also include more than 500 exhibitors and vendors selling hand-made goods and tools for sustainable living, along with 40 food vendors serving food made with local, organic ingredients. Fair organizers said Tinder Hearth, Brooksville’s lauded wood-fired bakery and pizzeria, is new to the Common Ground’s food lineup this year.
They highlighted offerings including vegan donut holes from Dō Donuts, local seafood from Nor’Easter Oyster Co. and sweet and savory hand pies from Portable Pie Place. The fair also features cooking events and demonstrations on topics ranging from canning and lacto-fermentation to harvest preserva.