More of the common ground fair

There is an incredible array of artisans at the fair. I love the woodwork whimsy of the bird houses. This man does felting, it looks so simple but I have yet to try it. I would love to make some felt hats. There are felting classes at the fair that I will have to try. There are whole tents of artists who work with clothing, pottery, stone work, paint, etc, etc. Last year we went to the Youth Enterprise Zone tent. Wow what creativity and talent. We didn't realise it was only going to be there for part of the fair so when we went back it was empty. Next year we are going to buy some things from them and support their work!!

There are lots of animals and a lot of interest in spinning yarn from a large variety of animals. There is a large tent where you can buy big bags of wool and I think next to that tents is the Wednesday Spinners where you can watch 15-20 people spinning yarn. For some reason I really enjoy watching them work. It seems like it takes a delicate touch.
Face painting is one of the things Brielle has done every year. They have an incredible number of volunteers for the fair. There is info on the website if you are interested in doing so. Ken volunteered as an EMT last year. The face painting is done by volunteers and is free, like most things in the children's area. Sometimes there is a fee for craft lessons but not generally.

As I have said before, this is not a typical fair. This fair encourages hands on learning and participation. There is a tent dedicated to everything Native American, from arts and crafts to drumming (see picture).The other picture is, (I believe) the International folk dance and Baltic womans choir. They where fun to watch and obviously loved performing. Brielle is playing in a bucket of seeds, probably at the Fedco tent or maybe Johnny's Select Seed. You might wonder if she should be, but there are a couple of bushels set out every year just for that purpose.

You see a lot, and hear a lot, about recycling. They actually are not going to sell bottled water at the fair this year. Instead they have set up water stations all around the fair to get people to refill instead of dealing with all the waste generated by the bottles. Great idea!! Every time I go to the fair it makes me want to eat better and work at being "greener" in lots of ways. I don't necessarily succeed but it is important to keep thinking about it and working at it. The picture of brielle on the recycled tires got me going on this tangent. You can also see the compost tumbler in the background.

The first year that I went the guy with the owl gave a presentation. Unfortunately I have not seen him since. There are presentations for a wide variety of subjects so it would really be worth your time to check their web site.http://mofga.org/ The man with the owl also had some hawks and other owls. It was very interesting and informative. The picture of the white bird is a carrier pigeon. Soon after the man gave his talk and let anyone who wanted to pet his bird, he released it. I don't recall what part of Maine he was from but the pigeon had a ways to fly to get home.