Blue ribbon winner at the Fryeburg Fair. (contributed photo)
by Jude Hsiang
Maine Fair season continues. Do you spend a few hours – or days – at your local fair, or travel further for a fair vacation? Perhaps you are among the many Mainers whose business revolves around the fair circuit, as a food vendor or competitor in anything from harness racing to demolition derby to vegetable shows to flower arranging to quilting. Do you have animals to shampoo and manicure for their big day? Are you anticipating the midway games and food?
Some of my friends make the rounds of several fairs with their sheep, chickens, or draft horses. While doing this they may still find time to prepare their special pickles or jams. Whether you already have a draw full of blue ribbons or are thinking “maybe next year” for your first venture in showing off your best tomatoes or pumpkins, photography or painting, check the displays at your favorite fair.
In some states county fairs are the big events of summer and fall. There are huge state fairs where politicians seek out potential voters and cameras while eating fried foods of every imaginable description. Here in Maine, we are lucky to have fairs in every part of the state – 25 official fairs in our 16 counties are licensed by the Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation, and Forestry. From June to October, large and small, each has its special flavor.
Like many of us, I think of fairs as late summer and fall events, unless we happen to live where some of the earliest fairs occur, like the Springfield Fair in mid-June. I should make plans to attend one of the early summer fairs next year to see what I’ve been missing. There are all sorts of festivals year-round to celebrate everything from strawberries to oysters, but there’s really nothing like a country fair.
There are lots of opportunities for fun and learning. The Windsor Fair is just 20 minutes from my central Maine home, so I had ample opportunity to meet friends at the Fiber Tent while seeing all of my favorite events over its 10-day run that spanned the Labor Day weekend. From its founding in 1888, this fair is Maine’s second largest and showcases the history of Kennebec County’s agricultural traditions along with more contemporary activities.
In contrast to the big fairs, the Harmony Free Fair is a small-town event with small town flavor. It was founded by the Harmany Patriarch’s Club in 1948, but I know that a lot of the work is done by women. Each Labor Day weekend this free agricultural fair includes almost everything we love about fairs in friendly manageable size.
The Common Ground Country Fair will celebrate 50 years next week. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association brings people from around the country to “celebrate rural living” each year at MOFGA headquarters in Unity. The focus is on skills, ancient and new. If you think that excitement requires loud noise and roaring engines, you’ll change your mind as you watch the sheep dogs and horse teams show their abilities. There are tents where indigenous people, young entrepreneurs, and craftspeople show and sell their finest products. Healthy foods, educational talks, and special kid’s activities, and thousands of new friends.
The fair season ends each year with Fryeburg Fair, the largest in Maine. As a child, I was enthralled by the horse and oxen pulls at this fair. Now I am appreciative of the excellent gardening and fiber craft displays, showing how the generations have renewed commitment to these arts. Food, games, music, harness racing – Fryeburg has it all.
While visiting the last fairs of the 2026 season you may have been inspired to join the fun of the competitions. Check the fairs’ websites for the long lists of events and their rules. Or just plan to take part in the many demonstrations of traditional skills from fiber arts to woodworking.
As gardeners we can start saving seeds for the plants we’ve found most prize-worthy so that we can share our knowledge with thousands of other experienced and long-time gardeners. When the seed catalogs fill our mailboxes, we can decide which new varieties we’ll want to plant for enjoyment at home and gardening glory at the fair.
© Judith Chute Hsiang
Jude Hsiang is a retired University Extension Master Gardener Program instructor and a member of the China Community Garden.
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