Mapleton farm fest kicks off summer
The ninth annual Maple Meadows Farm Festival drew hundreds of people to Mapleton to celebrate Aroostook County’s rural life and agriculture on the first weekend of summer.
The festival at the Maple Meadows Farm and homestead of Andrea and Matt Gregg is a draw for many from within and outside Aroostook County and the state to experience the past and present of farm life in northern Maine.
The event started in 2007 as an artisan craft fair at the farm with horse-drawn wagon rides and other activities. “From there it kind of grew and spiraled into what it is now,” said Matt Gregg, who also runs an auction business.
The two-day festival hosted more than 20 activities, including live music, cooking demonstrations, sheep shearing, art and skills competitions, as well as wood-fired pizza, barbecue and homemade baked goods.
A major highlight of the fest are horses. The Gregg family has a tradition of using the animals on their hay and small grain farm and in their woodlot, and horse farming is making something of a comeback in The County with Amish families who’ve been settling in the area.
This year’s festival offered horse-drawn wagon rides, animal exhibits with baby goats, sheep, pigs and chickens, demonstrations on wood milling and blacksmithing, and talks on organic farming, seed saving, medicinal plants and fruit growing.
The festival is in the second of a three-year process to become a state-recognized agricultural fair, which requires having a number of competitions, Gregg said.
Several of those revolved around horse farming skills, including saddling and hay-baling races. In an art competition, six artists spent an hour painting scenes of the local farming economy, such as the Bouchard Family Farms’ buckwheat ploye mix product, a potato field sunset and a bee pollinating a flower.
Another highlight of the event was harvesting new potatoes. After Gregg and two draft horses ran a one-row digger, people could go pick their own fresh baby tubers for $5 a bag.
The one-row digger was once used by the Wilcox family through the mid-1940s, and the simple equipment still runs well and is a crowd pleaser, Gregg said. “We always do that every year, it’s always a big draw.”
