More Than 62,000 Fairgoers Join The Celebration
Next year's Fair will take place on September 19, 20 & 21, 2007. Mark your calendars.
September 25, 2007 (Unity, Maine) -- The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) celebrated its 31st Common Ground Country Fair this past weekend. More than 62,000 people came through the gates to take part in the annual celebration of sustainable living and organic farming and gardening."We had a record fair this year," said Russell Libby, MOFGA's Executive Director. "Since we moved to our home in Unity, we haven't seen numbers anything close to 62,000."MOFGA's fair attendance in Unity has hovered around 50,000, plus or minus 2,000 depending on the weather. The historic attendance record-to-beat was just over 60,000 in 1996, when the Common Ground Country Fair took place at the Windsor Fairgrounds.
Libby attributed the huge jump in attendance to the public's growing interest in the local, organic foods, which are abundant at Common Ground. Of course, three days of perfect weather didn't hurt."We had a wonderful fair this year with no major incidents in the course of the three-day event," said Libby. "During our ten years in Unity our amazing volunteers have developed great systems and worked out most of the kinks."Traffic and parking went smoothly on Friday and Sunday, but the Fair acknowledged that there was a mid-day slow-down on Saturday. The volume of traffic coming north to the Fair on Route 220 through Knox and Thorndike was significant enough on Saturday to fill MOFGA's huge free parking lot.
MOFGA volunteers have worked tirelessly to build and organize the fairgrounds into a comfortable and enjoyable place for visitors. Mr. Libby noted that over the past year, volunteers had built new benches, handwashing stations, picnic tables, and signs. They had also spent considerable time cultivating demonstration gardens, and improving stands in MOFGA's woodlot. A notable addition was MOFGA's Bergey Excel windmill which will provide enough power in the course of the year to meet the electricity demands of the entire Fair.Some 650 Maine-based vendors, exhibitors, and demonstratorsarrived in Unity on Thursday to set up their booths. While it is impossibleto calculate how much money the Common Ground Country Fair generates for small, locally-owned businesses, the three-day event certainly is a boon to Maine's organic farmers. Each year, the Fair generates roughly $350,000dollars for Maine's organic agriculture.Volunteers are needed for Fair clean-up this week. Anyone interested in lending a hand should call the Fair office at 207-568-4142.Already, MOFGA is hard at work planning for next year's Fair and other educational programs at the Common Ground Education Center in Unity, which MOFGA developed to serve as a year-round education facility focusing on Maine's organic agriculture and other environmentally and socially just causes. People who would like to take part in programs happening at MOFGA throughout the year should contact MOFGA at 207-568-4142 or http://www.mofga.org/. Volunteers are needed for many different projects throughout the year.
Next year's Fair will take place on September 19, 20 & 21, 2007. Mark your calendars.
September 25, 2007 (Unity, Maine) -- The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) celebrated its 31st Common Ground Country Fair this past weekend. More than 62,000 people came through the gates to take part in the annual celebration of sustainable living and organic farming and gardening."We had a record fair this year," said Russell Libby, MOFGA's Executive Director. "Since we moved to our home in Unity, we haven't seen numbers anything close to 62,000."MOFGA's fair attendance in Unity has hovered around 50,000, plus or minus 2,000 depending on the weather. The historic attendance record-to-beat was just over 60,000 in 1996, when the Common Ground Country Fair took place at the Windsor Fairgrounds.
Libby attributed the huge jump in attendance to the public's growing interest in the local, organic foods, which are abundant at Common Ground. Of course, three days of perfect weather didn't hurt."We had a wonderful fair this year with no major incidents in the course of the three-day event," said Libby. "During our ten years in Unity our amazing volunteers have developed great systems and worked out most of the kinks."Traffic and parking went smoothly on Friday and Sunday, but the Fair acknowledged that there was a mid-day slow-down on Saturday. The volume of traffic coming north to the Fair on Route 220 through Knox and Thorndike was significant enough on Saturday to fill MOFGA's huge free parking lot.
MOFGA volunteers have worked tirelessly to build and organize the fairgrounds into a comfortable and enjoyable place for visitors. Mr. Libby noted that over the past year, volunteers had built new benches, handwashing stations, picnic tables, and signs. They had also spent considerable time cultivating demonstration gardens, and improving stands in MOFGA's woodlot. A notable addition was MOFGA's Bergey Excel windmill which will provide enough power in the course of the year to meet the electricity demands of the entire Fair.Some 650 Maine-based vendors, exhibitors, and demonstratorsarrived in Unity on Thursday to set up their booths. While it is impossibleto calculate how much money the Common Ground Country Fair generates for small, locally-owned businesses, the three-day event certainly is a boon to Maine's organic farmers. Each year, the Fair generates roughly $350,000dollars for Maine's organic agriculture.Volunteers are needed for Fair clean-up this week. Anyone interested in lending a hand should call the Fair office at 207-568-4142.Already, MOFGA is hard at work planning for next year's Fair and other educational programs at the Common Ground Education Center in Unity, which MOFGA developed to serve as a year-round education facility focusing on Maine's organic agriculture and other environmentally and socially just causes. People who would like to take part in programs happening at MOFGA throughout the year should contact MOFGA at 207-568-4142 or http://www.mofga.org/. Volunteers are needed for many different projects throughout the year.
10 comments:
There was not a "midday slowdown" on Saturday. This is false. There was a serious problem that threatened the safety of hundreds of people. There was no one directing thousands of cars exiting at the close of the day, and all cars were funneled into one lane to exit. Cars were in line up to four hours trying to inch their way and jockey for position. The one staff member refused to open another exit gate. There was no emergency/fire lane, and had there been need for an ambulance or firetruck, neither could have gotten in with thousands of cars stacked in line. We were there, and we saw the roads around the fair. They were not blocked. The backup was at the parking lots. Never again for us.
With havin so much written content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or
copyright infringement? My blog has a lot of exclusive content I've either created myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my authorization. Do you know any techniques to help protect against content from being ripped off? I'd genuinely appreciate
it.
My page - zetaclear reviews
magnificent issues altogether, you simply received a new reader.
What would you recommend about your post that you just made
a few days in the past? Any positive?
Feel free to visit my web page ... hardwood flooring
Also see my page > http://www.flooranddecoroutlets.com/hardwood-solid.html
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on unrevealing. Regards
Feel free to surf to my blog post: hair loss remedy
They do not insert secret or additional advertising in
our material. It's almost always easy to make a joke about the way a cat ends up lying down or sitting. There are a few selections of these to choose from on this site too.
my blog post - www.talentmayhem.com
They do not insert secret or additional advertising in our material.
But be sure to have the old removed first; otherwise the new
will not come into play. Use old fabric to create puppets, monsters,
and any other creatures that your child can imagine.
Check out my web site; facebook funny pictures and quotes
Great delivery. Sound arguments. Continue the
good spirit.
Also visit my webpage :: ocwiki.originlab.com
While nutraceutical and pharmaceutical content in the baseline
algae strain is very small, current market values for these products are extremely high.
It was a scientific breakthrough that provided a huge impetus to the work on ageing, genetics and medicine.
In the manufacturing of food, pharmaceuticals or cosmetics, assuring
quality control is a top-notch priority.
Here is my page - Biotechnology and Bioengineering
So, before you play, make sure you stretch the muscles used in swinging your golf club.
You could always join a fitness related group on Facebook, though.
To keep one motivated it is important to alternate the activities after one to two weeks.
Also visit my page: http://vidarumba.com
I like reading a post that will make people think. Also, many thanks for permitting me to comment!
my website; servicemembersunderground.com
Post a Comment