Sadie Radwany, 4, left, and Isabelle Gaynor, 5, of Norway help Kim McGuire card wool Sunday at A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm’s open house in Sumner during Open Farm Day. McGuire says she considers herself an apprentice at her mother’s farm. She uses the carded wool to make felted soaps. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

SUMNER — Mainers gathered at local farms Sunday for treats and crafts in celebration of this year’s Open Farm Day.

The agritourism event invited people to explore farms throughout the state and connect with those who run them.

Visitors also were given opportunities to enjoy what farms produce and learn more about agriculture’s affects economically and culturally on Maine.

At A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm, a wool farm at 106 Black Mountain Road in Sumner, guests created pictures wrapped around small wood cutouts and admired knitted garments on display at the farm’s store.

Sitting at a spinning wheel, Martha Elkin, who co-owns the farm with her partner, Mary Ann Haxton, worked deftly with wool shorn from her sheep every eight months.

“I think educating young people about what you can do with wool products, and what’s happening right around the corner from where they live, is very important,” said Elkin, 81. “(Farms) are all just really very very important to the environment, and I think that small farms are just the way to go. It’s the way to grow your gardens and produce the things we need everyday.”

Sydney Bullard forks hay into cow stalls Sunday at Canty Cow Creamery in Turner during Open Farm Day. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Madison McGuire, 20, of upstate New York said she has spent summers at her grandmother’s farm since childhood, helping sell woolen goods at local farmers’ markets on weekends.

“It’s just a really great place to escape from the world,” McGuire said. “The way they do things around here is just so much more relaxing, and you feel so much more connected to the world and the community around you. It just feels like really meaningful work.”

Sunday’s intense heat led some to visit Canty Cow Creamery at 278 Upper St. in Turner, where customers flocked for sweet treats.

“People come here and enjoy being able to look at the cows,” said Sydney Bullard, an employee at her family’s business, as she fed hay to dairy cows. “It’s really important to customers (when) they can see our processing room in the ice cream shop and see the shops and how they’re treated. It gives them a different image from something they might see on Instagram or Facebook.”

Martha Elkin spins wool Sunday at A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm in Sumner, which she owns with Mary Ann Haxton. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Some who visited farms Sunday learned how big the food industry has become in Maine.

In 2020, for example, 24% of Maine’s nearly $1.8 billion in food manufacturing sales occurred within the state, while the rest was sold outside of Maine, according to the Office of Business Development at the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development,

With all the revenue the food industry brings into Maine, it easy to forget that much of the produce is grown near many people’s backyards.

But the enormity of the Maine food industry was not necessarily on people’s mind during Open Farm Day.

Sadie Radwany, 4, looks at the sheep Sunday at A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm in Sumner during Open Farm Day. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Instead, smoke from burgers cooking on grills let visitors know they were at Roebucks Angus, a beef and chicken farm at 783 Upper St. in Turner, where owner Jay Roebuck and his family served burgers across plastic folding tables.

“We come here to buy our meat locally and usually come up every year to enjoy the burgers, bring the grandchild out and check out the animals,” said Jay Bishop of Auburn.

“People should understand what farmers do out here and realize that there is opportunity locally to support these guys — they work hard. They give a good product, as well. Unfortunately, farms have been going to the wayside, so we need to appreciate the ones that are left. The more local we go, the better.”

Jay Roebuck walks out of his beef and pig barn Sunday at his farm, Roebucks Angus, in Turner during Open Farm Day. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal