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On Friday, September 22, the 30th annual Common Ground Fair kicked off in Unity, Maine. Along with booths dedicated to agriculture, natural health and organic farming, the University of Maine was represented with exhibits from the Hudson Museum, the Page Farm Museum, and the Maine Folklife Center.
The Hudson Museum has been coming to the fair for eight years, and this time brought a large collection of Native American books and resources. The Hudson Museum, which raises awareness for northeastern Native Americans, works closely with the Maine Indian Basket Makers Association, hoped to promote a basket sale and demonstration occurring in December. Gretchen Faulkner, director of programming and development activities at the Hudson Museum, hopes to raise more “awareness and interest in the culture of Native Americans.” For more information on the Native American exhibits, stop by the Hudson Museum Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The other museum exhibit at the fair, the Page Farm and Home Museum, had a booth for the 11th straight year, but it was the museum’s first time in the Folk Art Tent. Patricia Henner, the director of the museum, says that she thought having a booth at the fair was a good way to “have visibility for the campus.”
This year, the museum brought two collections of stenciled and painted tin ware, an art form that was popular back in the 17th and 18th centuries. The exhibit, which is featured on the second floor of the Page museum, also featured a place where interested onlookers could try their hand at stenciling a bookmark. Henner says that the Museum wants to incorporate “Maine collections and themes” and is thinking of offering a “stenciling workshop in the future.” For more information on the stencil exhibit, stop by the museum Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The third exhibit, the Maine Folklife Center, has had trouble gaining visibility around campus. Even though the MFC has had a booth at the fair for 11 years, many students do not know what the Folklife Center does, or even whereit is located on campus. University of Maine professor Sandy Ives organized the Folklife Center in 1992, combining the Northeast Folklore Society and the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History, which he founded in 1957.
Pamela Dean, archivist for the MFC, says that the center focuses on “the traditions and cultures of Maine, as well as recording over 5,000 hours of oral interviews from Maine citizens.” The center also teaches oral history classes from time to time, and wants to let students know what is offered. Dean says that she is hoping to start a “series of radio programs that will draw from the interviews in the archives.” Along with the oral history, the MFC also has over 10,000 images and photos and encourages students to visit the center anytime, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in South Stevens Hall.
All three exhibits received much attention over the three days of the fair, and provided good opportunities for publicity and awareness about the different programs and exhibits at the University of Maine.
