State officials say they don’t have the authority to stop the Fryeburg Fair from opening a day early, a decision that’s left vendors frustrated, traditions of fairground cooperation shattered and loyal fairgoers drawing battle lines on social media.

The ruling from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry follows weeks of vocal opposition from Cumberland Fair organizers, who say Fryeburg’s new Saturday opening encroaches on their busiest day.

Fryeburg won’t receive state subsidy money — which helps fairs cover operational costs — for the unlicensed day, but event leaders say the move undermines the long-standing spirit of camaraderie among the state’s agricultural fairs.

“Maine fairs have traditionally cooperated with one another and worked together to make sure that no one was infringing on another fair’s time,” said Elizabeth Tarantino, secretary of the Cumberland Farmers Club. “I don’t know that we really have a relationship with Fryeburg anymore. The relationship that we had has truly disintegrated.”

Fryeburg applied for its traditional Sunday-to-Sunday schedule when organizers submitted five years’ worth of proposed dates at a state hearing in April. But during that hearing, officials revealed they planned to open early, on Sep. 27, overlapping with Cumberland’s final day. Weeks later, the state announced it lacked the legal authority to intervene.

“The commissioner has not identified an authority in statute that would allow her to prevent any fair from engaging in activities on unlicensed days,” reads the 12-page decision, which also notes that the state cannot preemptively block fair dates or withhold funding unless there’s clear evidence of harm.

Fryeburg isn’t the only fair looking to make better use of weekend days and boost revenue from carnival rides and games. Last year, the Windsor Fair opened on a Saturday, even though its dates overlapped with two other Maine fairs.

Vendors and exhibitors have been asking Fryeburg organizers to open early for years to “expand and enhance their operations,” according to Rachel Damon, a spokesperson for the Fryeburg Fair. Damon said the schedule shift reflects the fair’s commitment to supporting small businesses and nonprofits.

“We’re not doing anything wrong or illegal,” Damon said in an email. “We have every right to do this.”

DACF Commissioner Amanda Beal had expressed concern about Fryeburg’s move and urged organizers to reconsider, noting that more than 200 people submitted comments opposing the plan to operate unlicensed in direct competition with the Cumberland Fair.

For the dozens of vendors who participate in both Fryeburg and Cumberland, the overlap threatens to turn their 50-mile commute into an hourslong logistical nightmare. Livestock exhibitors required to stay at Cumberland through Saturday won’t be penalized for arriving late to Fryeburg on Sunday, but showing up after the midway is already packed isn’t ideal.

“Think about trying to drive a trailer filled with animals into a fair that’s filled with patrons,” said Tarantino, who grew up minutes from the fairground. “We’ve got it all roped off, but it’s rather challenging to keep the public separated from all the movement and vehicles.”

The two fairs, each steeped in more than a century of tradition, are competing online for more than bragging rights over who best showcases Maine’s agricultural heritage. An estimated 230,000 people attended the Fryeburg Fair last year and 60,000 went to Cumberland, and hundreds have taken to social media to argue over who’s to blame.

“Fryeburg should be ashamed!” one commenter wrote under a Facebook post by the Cumberland Fair. “Organize a boycott campaign,” another suggested.

Peter Bragdon, a coffee vendor at Fryeburg who grew up attending the Cumberland Fair, doesn’t believe either fair is in the wrong. He just wishes the disagreement had been resolved privately between organizers, not played out publicly.

“I respect Cumberland, but I think they use social media a lot to keep stirring the pot on this,” said the 46-year-old New Gloucester native. “The people that live in that area are just biting onto what they’re seeing without looking at the other side.”

Vendors are used to traveling between the two fairs, Bragdon said, and he hasn’t heard many complaints from the food and drink sellers he works alongside at Fryeburg. He doesn’t think the overlapping day will hurt business on either end, unless local residents actually follow through with a boycott.

But Jenn Grant, who brings her beef cattle to both fairs from Findview Farm in Gorham, is more concerned. Not just about finances, though the Cumberland County 4-H club typically earns its largest profit on Saturday, but about participation. She only expects about 10 kids from her beef club to show their cattle on Thursday at Cumberland, down from the usual 20. It’s already a small group, she said, and many families choose Fryeburg over Cumberland because the two events fall so close together.

“I just don’t see families coming in for the day, going home Thursday night, turning around, packing everything up and going to Fryeburg,” said Grant, 56. “That’s no fun.”

Grant still plans to haul her cattle to Fryeburg after she wraps up her duties at Cumberland Saturday night, though she hasn’t received any guidance from fair officials about when vendors can arrive or how their spaces will be held. This year will mark her 47th showing at both fairs, and she’s willing to fight the traffic to keep the streak going.

“Obviously, I am very disappointed that Fryeburg is doing this, but I’m trying to go in with a positive attitude,” she said. “If it is too much of a hassle, we probably won’t go back.”