There's no Ferris wheel, no cotton candy, no neon lighting, no celebrity performers – for years there wasn't even coffee, until fair-trade organic became an option – but the three-day event still draws roughly 60,000 folks to a two-lane road toward its grounds in the rolling farmland of central Maine.
For the first dozen years I lived in New Hampshire, I heard about the most recent gathering and spotted its current T-shirts at contradances and farm markets afterward, but my work schedule didn't fit attending.
And then, newly remarried, I took some precious vacation time that gave me a first-hand experience – including the now legendary traffic jam that rivaled any big city. Once there, we encountered a number of people we already knew, even though we lived three hours away.
Another dozen years passed before we returned, from the other direction, and this year's an encore.
It's the Common Ground Fair, held the second weekend after Labor Day – more or less an equinox celebration held by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, or MOFGA, the nation's oldest and largest statewide organic organization in America.
It's like a Whole Earth Catalog come to life. Of, if you've ever wondered where the hippies went, a good place to see places the movement has evolved and continues in practical ways.
Not all of it's back-to-the-earth, either. Sustainable living, local economies, and spirituality augment the emphasis on organic agriculture and food use. There's even a workshop on organizing a labor union.
Here's hoping for some prime fall weather.
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