Expect Maine’s fairs to be more agricultural this year

By Elizabeth Walztoni, Bangor Daily News Staff

Across Maine’s agricultural fairs, organizers are making a new push to connect attendees to current farmers and fair history.

Some schedules and events will also differ this fair season, which begins on Saturday in Springfield and will continue through October.

Agricultural fairs have been more than just tradition in Maine. They were where farmers showed off the best of their production and connected with other farmers for ideas and brood stock. In recent years, some of the fairs have had more carnival and less agriculture, and there is an effort to shift it back to its roots.

A “Meet the Farmer” contest encourages fairs to highlight local farmers, and organizers at the state’s fair association also hope to add farmers markets.

They plan to include more of this education each year and hope it will reach people who might attend just for the midway rides, according to Barry Norris, executive director of the Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs. 

“The fairgoer has this opportunity so they understand what the farmer has been doing and how it relates to what the fair is doing,” he said.

Fairs have been getting shorter over the years as Maine’s agricultural community shrinks, according to Norris. Farmers once exhibited commodities all week long while their children showed livestock. 

Now, they choose where they go, and some fairs have reduced their schedules so exhibitors don’t have to spend as much time off the farm. 

Scheduling has shifted from past years for the Pittston Fair, now June 20-23, and Union Fair, now July 7-10. 

The Windsor fair, one of the state’s most attended, adds an extra day this year. It will run Aug. 24 through Sept. 2, adding a Saturday. Schedule changes for other fairs mean that extra day is possible without drawing traffic away from somewhere else.

Harness racing will return to Bangor for the first time in at least 40 years at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 25. Agricultural events will be held inside the arena throughout the week so they can continue rain or shine, Norris said. 

Even adding harness racing back to Bangor is part of educational efforts. As Norris tells it, the sport began with farmers saying to each other, “my horse is faster than your horse.” The races have long been part of Maine agricultural fairs and support them financially. 

“Sometimes people don’t get the opportunity to talk to farmers, or they’re reluctant to,” Norris said. But the farmers are excited for this season this year and eager to talk. 

The full schedule of fairs runs through October:

Monmouth Fair (June 26-29)

Union Fair (July 7-10)

Ossipee Valley Fair in Hiram (July 11-14)

Houlton Fair (July 18-21)

Waterford World’s Fair (July 19-21)

Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle (July 31-Aug. 4)

Bangor State Fair (July 25-Aug. 3)

Topsham Fair (Aug. 6-11)

Skowhegan Fair (Aug. 8-17)

Acton Fair (Aug. 22-25)

Piscataquis Valley Fair in Dover-Foxcroft (Aug. 22-25)

Washington County Fair in Pembroke (Aug. 24-25)

Windsor Fair (Aug. 25-Sept. 2)

Blue Hill Fair (Aug. 29-Sept. 2)

Harmony Free Fair (Aug. 30-Sept. 2)

Clinton Lions Agricultural Fair (Sept. 5-8)

Litchfield Fair (Sept. 6-8)

Oxford Fair (Sept. 11-14)

New Portland Lions Fair (Sept. 13-15)

Farmington Fair (Sept. 15-21)

Common Ground Country Fair (Sept. 20-22)

Cumberland Fair (Sept. 22-28)

Fryeburg Fair (Sept. 29-Oct. 6)