Maine's Wild Blueberries; a Celebrated Heritage

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.

Wilton Blueberry Festival 

 Machias Wild Blueberry Festival

Union Fair and Wild Blueberry Festival

Maine’s Agricultural Fairs

Maine Festivals and Events 

Learn more about Wild Blueberries:

WildBlueberries.com

  

Learn more about organic farming: 

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

Check out my family farm:

 Peaked Mountain 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 

theSCENE 

an entertainment magazine published monthly by 

Courier Publications LLC in Rockland, Maine.

Nosing Around Maine  © Copyright 2012 Gail J. VanWart  All Rights Reserved

In the Heart of Brooklin, Maine

The Brooklin Inn - Early Spring 2012

Elwyn Brooks White, would often sit on its rocky beaches with his little dog, Minnie. The quiet man was far better known to the world as E. B. White and author of two of the most famous children’s tales ever written, Charlotte’s Webb and Stuart Little, as well as, the ever-so-handy Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. Originally from New York, the serenity of Maine became home to him, as it has for many others. His son, Joel White became a navel architect and boat builder and owned the Brooklin Boatyard. 

There is no doubt E.B., his wife, Katharine Angell White, and their family has left their imprints on Brooklin’s history. E. B. White died in North Brooklin at the age of 86. History in this town is deeply embedded into its shores. Besides White, included in its timeline are the Red Paint People and the Revolutionary War. A trip to the Friend Memorial Public Library in the middle of town will provide you with a lot of information about Brooklin’s past inhabitants and even put you face-to-face with an original Garth Williams illustration for E. B. White’s book, Stuart Little.

However, this little blog isn’t really about E. B. White, it’s about Brooklin, a quiet place in a warp-speed world. Located on Maine’s Downest coastline, it’s surrounded by beautiful Blue Hill Bay to its east, Jericho Bay to its south, and Eggemoggin Reach to its southwest—a perfect place for great sailing, fishing, and lobstering, as well as relaxing and exploring nature.

Visitors soon discover, as they drive into Brooklin from Blue Hill, time seems to have lost about sixty or so years on the way there. Visiting Brooklin, is encountering life pretty much as it was in the 1950s. The center of town features a general store, post office, church, cafe, three inns, a library, small artist’s galleries and an antique shop. 
However, this quaint little community is also large enough to house Wooden Boat Magazine, Wooden Boat School, boat builders, artists, musicians, writers, and variety of people who simply enjoy being away from it all.

Paella, Brooklin Inn Style

The Brooklin Inn, with its fine dinning, B & B lodging and Irish Pub, operates year round and is found right in the heart of town, across from the library. Chip Angell and his wife, Gail, operate the cozy inn. Folks, both first time and frequent dinner guests, seek it out for its classic old fashion hospitality, neighborly atmosphere, fresh Maine seafood and local organic fare that’s served with an international flare by their Cordon Bleu chef. Everything on Chef Tyson’s menu is as local and fresh as possible. Their collection of wines require a more than extensive list and are personally selected by Chip, the inn’s owner, specifically to compliment the meals served.

You can read more about the Brooklin Inn in the June 2012 issue of theSCENE, a monthly magazine, published by Courier Publications LLC in Rockland, Maine. View theSCENE online. 

You can also learn more from the Brooklin Inn directly.

Painting (left), pictured on the wall at the Brooklin Inn, is a provocative piece of artwork, and certainly a conversation piece, created by local artist, Daniel Snyder, who operates his studio at 29 Reach Road in Brooklin.

© Copyright 2012 Gail J. VanWart All Rights Reserved

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