“Square dancing is a piece of our national rural culture that our generation can reclaim and revitalize – it’s fun, it’s silly, and it reflects where we’ve been.”

So said farmer and musician Adam Nordell, who organized (Put Your) Hoe Down in Topsham on July 26 with partner Johanna Davis. The two are new farmers – at Songbird Farm in Starks – and Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association journeypersons, meaning the organization is mentoring them.

Some 80 farmers, gardeners and others put their hoes down and put their dancing shoes on for the event, which benefited MOFGA’s educational programs. It was co-sponsored by MOFGA, along with the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust and the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust.

“If you can walk, you can dance,” says an African proverb. In Maine, apparently if you can plough, weed and hoe, you can dance, too.