After recording with Bill and Chloe at Begin Again Farm for last week’s episode, Bill happened to drop word of an upcoming festival. And not just any festival, but the 48th annual running of the Common Ground Country Fair. It happened on 20-22 September this year, in the aptly named Unity, Maine, about 40 miles north of Bill and Chloe’s place. The Fair draws 60,000 people, features all kinds of programs, food and arts, and even makes money for its host the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) - the oldest and largest state organic association in the US (founded in 1971). That’s who Bill works for when he’s not farming himself, or representing constituents as an Independent in the Maine legislature.

So I had to ask him if he’d put the microphone back on and tell us about it.

If you’ve come here first, tune into the main episodes with Bill and Chloe respectively, ep226 ‘An Independent Farmer Wins in Maine: Transcending the ‘battleground’ with Bill Pluecker’. And ep225 ‘Democracy on the Rise – in the US? With Maine’s youngest ever female senator, Chloe Maxmin’. You’ll find a few links in the show notes as usual, along with transcripts, and a few photos on the episode websites, with more on Patreon for subscribing members.

For more on the Fair, watch their excellent 5 minute video.

And for more on the Real Organic Conference, which ran the week after the Fair, back at Churchtown Dairy (which we visited in August), you can now watch videos of that on their website.

This episode has a transcript too.

Recorded 8 September 2024.

Title slide image: from the Fair’s website.

For more from behind the scenes, become a member via the Patreon page.

Music:
By Jeremiah Johnson.

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