UNITY — The Common Ground Country Fair, Maine’s signature celebration of artisans and organic farming, food, rural living and sustainability, will be held Sept. 21-23, at the fairgrounds.

The fair, put on by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, blends the traditions of an agricultural harvest celebration with modern innovations that support sustainable rural living and communities.

Among the musicians scheduled to perform over the weekend are The Toughcats, Folk Dance & Balkan Women’s Choir, Maine Squeeze Accordian Ensemble, Lissa Schneckenburger & Bethany Waickman, Jim Gallant and the Proper Perspectives, Darlin’ Corey featuring Erica Brown and Matt Shipman, Evergreen, Ianna and The Gawler Family. 

For a complete list of performers and a schedule of the fair’s more than 750 events, visit www.commongroundcountryfair.com. 

Traditional events include livestock shows, exhibition hall judging, live music and contra dances. There will also be workshops, talks and demonstrations on farming, organic gardening and lawn care, seed saving, cooking with local foods, energy-efficient building technologies, and environmental, health and social issues.

Keynote speakers include Shannon Hayes of Sap Bush Hollow Farm in New York, author of “Radical Homemakers” and “The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook;” Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides; and Sarah Smith of Grassland Farm in Skowhegan.

Other noted speakers are Harvey Ussery, best-selling author of “The Small Scale Poultry Flock;” renowned author and organic farming innovator Eliot Coleman; organic orchardist Michael Phillips; filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia; Greg Marley, mycologist and author of “Mushrooms for Health;” chef David Levi; Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals; Paul Tukey of SafeLawns.com; Chip Teel; Will Bonsall; and Mark Fulford.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson’s “A Silent Spring,” which helped advance the worldwide environmental movement.

In honor of Carson’s work, the Common Ground Fair will host a forum discussion and teach-in titled “Where Have All the Bees Gone?” A panel will discuss the importance of pollinators and explore possible explanations for the Colony Collapse Disorder mystery. Participating will be beekeepers Theresa Gaffney of Highland Blueberry Farm in Stockton Springs, and David Hackenberg of Hackenberg Apiaries in Lewisburg, Pa.; two scientists Frank Drummond of the University of Maine and Kimberly Stoner of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Other fair highlights include the Maine premiere of the film “Symphony of the Soil,” directed by filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia; and a screening of the film about Carson, “A Sense of Wonder,” featuring actress Kaiulani Lee. Garcia and Lee will introduce their respective films and follow with a question-and-answer session.