The smell of wood smoke and the coming foliage mean fair season is arriving in southern Maine.

From Sunday, Sept. 21, through Sunday, Oct. 5, the calls of midway barkers, mooing of cows and clatter of hooves and sulky wheels will resound from Cumberland to Fryeburg as the Cumberland County Fair and Fryeburg Fair take turns providing fall fun.

The season begins in Cumberland at the fairgrounds at 197 Blanchard Road as the 137th annual Cumberland County Fair beckons visitors with favorite events such as the 21st annual Maine State Pumpkin and Squash Weigh-In. The fair is sponsored by the Cumberland Farmers Club.

At the fairgrounds, visitors might see pumpkins large enough to carry Cinderella and 10 of her best friends to the ball as growers compete for a top prize of $500, with cash awarded all the way to the 10th heaviest camera.

Youth is unquestionably served at the fair, especially in the 4-H competitions for livestock, as well as crafts, but Sept. 23 and 25 are set aside as senior citizen days, when seniors pay a reduced $2 admission and will be entertained by Mac MacHale and the Old Time Radio Gang.

MacHale and his band are part of an expanded roster of entertainment that also includes The Don Campbell Band. Campbell, named Maine’s favorite country singer five years in a row, will play outside Exhibition Hall at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24 and again at 5:30 Friday, Sept. 26.

Fair fun can also become profitable, both for the 4-H exhibitors who find ready buyers for the animals they have raised and nurtured for months or years, and for those who like to lay a bet on the Standardbred and trotter horses racing each day of the fair.

Both fairs feature harness racing, ostensibly at the core of the fairs, which began as farmers gathered to race their horses.

As the Cumberland County Fair closes with a free admission Appreciation Day Sunday, Sept. 28, the Fryeburg Fair opens on 185 acres off Route 5.

Dating to 1851, the fair, sponsored by the West Oxford Agricultural Society, is by far the largest annual event in the area, punctuated by harness racing and shows and activities that highlight the agricultural and lumbering traditions of the area.

As the pumpkin contests are a staple unique to the Cumberland Fair, the Monday Woodsmen’s Day in Fryeburg draws lumberjacks from as far away as Minnesota and Quebec to compete in log rolling, axe throws, tree felling and crosscutting competitions.

As large a draw is the animal shows spread throughout the fairgrounds, entered by local farmers and 4-H members. From steers to rabbits, goats to chickens, it seems nothing from the barnyard is exempt from a ribbon.

Last year, 354 dairy cattle, 307 beef cattle and 511 sheep were entered in competitions, and a winning steer at the fair can bring as much as $5,000 when sold afterward.

In the craft center, artisans and crafters from western Maine will compete for prizes awarded to potters, painters, sculptors and glassworkers.

Admission to the Cumberland Fair is $9 for adults Sunday, Friday and Saturday; $7 for adults Monday-Thursday. Children ages 10, 11 and 12 are admitted for $2, ages 9 and under free. For fair hours, schedules and more information, visit www.cumberlandfair.com.

Admission to the Fryeburg Fair, located on Route 5, is $8 for every day but Saturday, when it is $10. For fair hours, schedules and more information, visit www.fryeburgfair.com