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| Fresh Organic Wild Blueberries at Peaked Mountain Farm |
Anyone, who knows me personally, knows I grew up in the middle of a Wild
Blueberry field in Maine and wear the badge of being the fourth generation to oversee the family farm, plus, its Wild Blueberries nature endowed it with. Though my farm is very small
compared to larger names in Maine’s Wild Blueberry industry—such as Merrill,
Wyman, and Cherryfield Foods—it really pleases me to be one of the few people
in the entire United States, perhaps the entire world, who can actually claim to be a producer of a Wild
Blueberry crop. The state of Maine is also quite proud of its unique Wild Blueberry
crop as it can rightly boast, overall, to be the largest producer of blueberries.
Just so there's no confusion, Maine’s Wild Blueberries are just that,
wild plants native to Maine’s soils, containing twice as many antioxidants as larger
cultivated blueberries grown elsewhere. Nature also gave these small Wild
Blueberries a special flavor causing people to flock to Maine each summer in
search of them. While Maine celebrates its agricultural heritage
with fairs and festivals throughout the summer months, it’s no wonder three are
especially devoted to the Wild Blueberry.
The L.L. Bean bootmobile will be rolling into Wilton on August 3rd to
kick off its 30th annual Wild Blueberry celebration. The iconic boot, touring in
honor of L.L. Bean's 100th anniversary, will be standing outside the Western
Maine Expo building to greet festival goers from 11 am to7 pm. As a first in a
chain of festivals paying tribute to Maine’s official berry across the state,
Wilton’s Blueberry Festival will take place August 3-4. If you get there early
on Saturday, you can start the day off with a traditional Blueberry Pancake
Breakfast. Both days are jam-packed with events, some of which you may never
encounter anywhere else, such as the 6:30 pm parade of boats on Wilson Lake prior
to the fireworks display. 
The annual Blueberry Festival musical will
be front and center at the 37th Annual Wild Blueberry Festival in Machias,
August 17-19. In the heart of Downeast, where Maine’s unique Wild Blueberries
grow best, the Machias festivities include everything from an old fashion pie-eating
contest to blueberry farm tours. But, five nights, August 14-18, its air will
be filled with sounds of a musical written and performed by local talent in the
sanctuary of Centre Street Church.
Friday, August 24, will mark the 53rd Wild
Blueberry Festival Day at the Union Fair. In 1959, the Union Fair introduced
the State of Maine Blueberry Festival as a special featured attraction. Nowadays,
people travel from all over the world for Union Fair’s Wild Blueberry Festival
Day. Each year a new Blueberry Queen is selected and fair goers enjoy Wild Blueberries
as only Maine can dish them out. Wild Blueberry pie is actually free at The
Wild Blueberry Hut and attendees can even score a free poster or t-shirt by
visiting Wild Blueberry Corner in the Blueberry Acres pavilion.
Learn more about Wild
Blueberries:
Learn more about organic farming:
Check out my family farm:
Wild Blueberry Heritage
Video provided by the
Wild Blueberry Association of North America
You can read more about Maine events
and attractions in an issue of
an entertainment magazine published monthly by
Courier Publications LLC in Rockland, Maine.
Nosing Around Maine © Copyright 2012 Gail J. VanWart All Rights Reserved
