Want to enjoy one of the country’s preeminent fairs? Visit the agricultural fair in Fryeburg, and experience this 150+ year-old extravaganza of rides, livestock, entertainment, shows, bands, prizes, racing, special events, food and so much more.
It was a chilly day in March of 1851 when a few local farmers and merchants got together and decided to show off their produce, cattle and wares to the community. Since those humble beginnings, the Fryeburg Fair has grown to become Maine’s largest agricultural fair complete with six days of harness racing, a farm museum second to none, the world’s largest steer and oxen show and a reputation known throughout North America.
The 8-day Blue Ribbon Classic has flourished since that first fair when William Walker of Lovell won $3 for the best acre of corn and William Spring of Brownfield earned $1 for the best seed wheat. Today, the early October fair boasts Maine’s largest agricultural event held on 185 acres in the Saco River Valley in the foothills of the White Mountains. The fair also normally takes place during the height of Maine’s Fall foliage season. The Fryeburg Fair attracts more than 300,000 people annually.
If you’ve never been to the Fryeburg Fair, you can get a feel for the agricultural fair experience by viewing the short video below.
I’ve been up the Songo River before, but the last time was in 1983 (over 25 years ago) and I wanted to see if anything had changed. The river connects Sebago Lake to Brandy Pond*, the Bay of Naples at the southern end of Long Lake, and the whole of Long Lake, which is navigable all the way to Harrison, Maine. The Maine Central Railroad (in a summer brochure from 1929) describes the Songo River Excursion from Portland to Harrison as traveling “Through the Crookedest of All Rivers”. The price was $2.38 round trip. The trip was made possible by the construction of the Songo River Lock built in 1830 to allow for the easy transportation of agricultural and wood products from as far away as Bridgton and Harrison to Portland by barge, and later by rail and steamship.
For the trip, I hitched a ride on the Tykona, an antique Chris-Craft built in 1936. We left from Migis Lodge, which sits perched along 3500 feet of pristine shoreline at the northeast corner of Sebago Lake. Sebago Lake itself is like a secret handshake among boaters who have been there. When you meet another Sebago boater there’s sort of a subtle smile and a nod. They know, and you know, how special the lake really is.
The trip took a total of two and a half hours, and we learned something about a milfoil infestation in the Songo, but you can do a virtual trip in just over 7 minutes by viewing the video below.
Enjoy!
* A “Pond” in Maine would surely be designated as a lake in almost any other state in the U.S, as you will see.