A trio of roosting chickens grace the 2017 Common Ground Country Fair poster, which was unveiled by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association this week.
The design of this year’s poster was released during the Maine Agricultural Trades Show, a three-day event held in Augusta this week.
The poster represents the 41st annual Common Ground Country Fair, which will be held Sept. 22 through Sept. 24. Each year the fair, organized by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, draws thousands of people to Unity for a celebration of rural living.
The 2017 design was created by artist Dwight Gagnon of Benton. The featured poultry are Columbian Wyandotte chickens, which is an uncommon variety of chicken that are well suited to the state’s climate, according to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. The birds are raised for their meat and eggs.
“It was a beautifully done design of something really important to rural communities,” said April Boucher, director of the Common Ground Country Fair.
The fair’s poster designs are selected by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association board of directors and the fair’s steering committee. Each year, the association has an open submission process to collect possible designs. Designs can be submitted by any Maine resident or association member. Once the submissions are collected, the winning design is selected in August.
In previous years, Common Ground Country Fair posters have featured an array of swiss chard, oxen, colorful medicinal herbs, twirling garlic scapes among other images inspired by rural living and agriculture.
When the fair rolls around in September, the design will be available on a host of products from shirts to tote bags. Copies of the 2017 poster can be purchased on the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association website.