Clara Stanley Lewis, 8, of Buxton, reaches to give Spot a piece of cheese during the pig races at the Cumberland County Fair in 2024. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

No offense to folks who love colorful foliage and pumpkin patches, but for a lot of people fall in Maine means squealing pigs, brawny oxen and the smell of burnt rubber.

Eight small town fairs will be held all over the state from now into October, featuring a cornucopia of entertainment and activities you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

Many have pig scrambles, where kids can run after squealing piglets to catch one to take home and raise. Several have a demolition derby, with cars crashing on purpose, and most embrace the time-honored fair tradition of watching oxen pull heavy stuff.

This year’s fair schedule has stirred some controversy and created a dilemma for some fairgoers and exhibitors. For the first time in memory, the Fryeburg and Cumberland fairs — located 50 miles apart — overlap each other by a day. Fryeburg will open on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, which will also be Cumberland’s last day. The Cumberland Fair’s organizers are worried that attendance and participation will suffer because of the shared day, forcing people to choose between the two.

To give you a better idea of what’s being offered at Maine’s fall fairs, we’ve put together a list including a description of each, along with at least one “must see” attraction.

https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js

Clinton Lions Fair, Sept. 4-7 

1450 Bangor Road, Clinton

Billed as “the biggest little fair in the state,” the schedule includes music, animals, a clown show and magic show, a pig scramble and a demolition derby.

Must see: A classic small-town parade with cows, clowns and antique cars kicks off downtown at 10 a.m. on Saturday.  There’s also the Women’s Fry Pan Toss competition Saturday at 3 p.m. This event may have begun with the idea that women who could throw a skillet with accuracy had a certain amount of control over misbehaving husbands.

Litchfield Fair, Sept. 5-7

44 Plains Road, Litchfield

Events and activities include pig racing, a pig scramble, steer and draft horse pulling, butter-making demos, an apple pie contest and a carnival midway.

Must see: The demolition derby on Sunday at 10 a.m. Up to 30 cars, with glass and chrome removed, will be set loose to smash into each other. A car that does not hit another vehicle within one minute can be disqualified.

Rhiver Snyder, 6, gets her hands on a pig at the Litchfield Fair pig scramble last year. (Andree Kehn/Staff Photographer)

Oxford County Fair, Sept. 10-13

67 Pottle Road, Oxford

There will be lots of 4-H youth and livestock events, a pig scramble, cattle pulling, a quilt contest, lawn mower races, baking contests and the Cirque Cyber thrill show.

Must see: Woodsmen’s Day on Sept. 12 will feature competitive events like log rolling, axe throwing and tree felling. There will also be various sawing skills on display, including bucksaw and chain saw. Come see what a real Maine lumberjack can do.

New Portland Lions Fair, Sept. 11-14

280 School St., New Portland

This fair is also host to the 30th Annual Maine Crafts Festival. Fair events include truck pulls, a demolition derby, live music, a pig scramble and fireworks.

Must see: The truck pull competition on the evening of Sept. 12. If you’ve never seen one, it’s basically a souped-up pickup pulling a much heavier vehicle around a track, fast. On Sept. 13 there will also be truck mud runs, which are as messy as they sound.

Christopher Seams pets a lamb at the Oxford County Fair last year. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)

Farmington Fair, Sept. 14-20 

292 High St., Farmington

Scheduled events include the Miss Farmington Fair contest, the Drag Your Neighbor car race, a demolition derby, a midway, and lots of animal exhibitions and competitions.

Must see: The youth animal auction at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17, where young people who raised livestock get to show their hard work off and see what price the market will bear. Kids will be auctioning off steer, lambs, hogs, hens and turkeys, among other things. The look of pride on a young farmer’s face is priceless.

Common Ground Country Fair, Sept. 19-21 

294 Crosby Brook Road, Unity

Organized by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the fair focuses on farming and sustainable living, with demonstrations and exhibits. There’s also live music, a fiddlers’ showcase and contra dance and the Harry S. Truman Manure Pitch Off competition.

Must see: The Vegetable Garden Parade, held daily at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in the children’s area. You’d be surprised how many fruits and vegetables people can dress up as. Folks who want to march with the veggies are encouraged to get there 15 minutes early, allowing time to get suited up.

A drummer sets the pace during the vegetable parade at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity in 2024. (Amy Calder/Staff Writer)

Cumberland County Fair, Sept. 21-27

197 Blanchard Road, Cumberland

Performances by the All-American Rodeo, international oxen and horse pulls, and a cornhole tournament are among this year’s highlights. The fair’s last day features a performance by American Idol finalist Julia Gagnon, who grew up in Cumberland.

Must see: The pig races are held daily, featuring little piglets decked out like racehorses. They’ve all been raised by a youngster and trained to race (we use the term loosely) by being enticed by a favorite treat. Also the Giant Pumpkin Contest, with weighing beginning 9:30 a.m. Sept. 21.

A pig gets a tomato as a treat after race well run at Cumberland County Fair last year. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

Fryeburg Fair, Sept. 27-Oct. 5

1154 Main St., Fryeburg

This is the state’s biggest fair, attracting an estimated 230,000 people last year over eight days. The new opening day Saturday schedule includes a kids pedal tractor pull, lawn mower races, a keg throw and draft horse and oxen pulls. There will be fireworks twice during the fair.

Must see: Dogs herding ducks. Border collies, who usually and primarily herd sheep, demonstrate that they can also herd ducks. There will be several demos throughout the fair. The official sheepdog trials (dogs herding sheep) will be held the morning of Sept. 28.

Maisie, a border collie, herds ducks at the 2024 Fryeburg Fair. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)