The event that truly changed my life. We first attended in 2007. Tucked away in a rural area of Maine, it is an amazing old fashioned farm fair. There are no carnival rides, no funnel cake and no loud blaring music. Instead there are hills to slide down on bits of cardboard, very fast and fun for all, all manner of food from vegan, indian, seafood to maple products of all kinds, and wandering through the fair the sound of banjo music accompanied by the jingle of bells on the Morris dancers. It may sound quaint and simple, but that is the beauty of it. One of the guidelines for this fair is that all products must come from Maine, it is truly a home grown affair.
There are tents full of shorn wool, vegetables, books, political causes and more information on farming organically than you can possibley take in at once. There are sheep dog herding demos, mule teams, oxen pulling plows. All the while, the wonderful smell of sweet annie drifts across the fair. If you want to learn anything about alternative energy, housing, composting or recyling it is the place to be.
I fell in love with Angora goats, my husband with the many ways of alternative energy. Our daughters, truly urban girls, slide down the hills, wove cloth on the oversize loom and hammered nails into a board, enjoying every moment.
As a soap maker, I loved the many booths of soapmakers, Bryan wondered why with so much soap at home, I couldn't resist purchasing more. I never wanted to leave, I wanted to soak up as much information as I could. I left feeling elated, excited but at the same time saddened by the reality that a farm was not in our future, at least not immediatly.
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