40 Years of the Common Ground Country Fair Poster Design

It was recently announced that one of Maine's most famous yearly events, the Common Ground Country Fair, will be in-person this year.

The 2021 Common Ground Country Fair will be taking place September 24th, 25th and 26th this year while maintaining pandemic safety guidelines including monitoring of attendance, which averages 60,000 visitors annually during the weekend event.

One of the most iconic things about this fair is the annual contest to design the poster for the years' fair. This contest has been going on for decades and showcases the talents of Maine artists while showcasing the agricultural lifestyle that Maine includes in it's culture.

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The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, also called MOFGA, bring us the yearly Common Ground Country Fair event and keeps an archive of the artwork through the years of the Common Ground Country Fair. You can even purchase some prints of these designs at the MOFGA website.

The annual poster contest is open to Maine residents and Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association members. The winning design is used for marketing materials for the annual fair event along with merchandise like shirts, bags and more. The artist also wins prize money and press for their design.

This year's winning design was created by Limington, Maine artist, Kathryn Cody Russell. Russell utilized the logo for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) as inspiration for the design since the organization is celebrating it's 50th year this year. The artist is the director of the Mercy Center at St. Joseph's College, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Check out more about this year's fair, including what to expect if you plan on attending, at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association website. Also, be on the lookout for more reprints of more poster designs to celebrate the Common Ground Fairs 50th year at the website store or sign up for their newsletter to keep yourself up-to-date.

Take a look at the winning designs that represents the spirit of agriculture here in the State of Maine from 1981 to now.