Fair Warning: Dutchess County Fairground Happenings Now Through The Fall
This year, the Dutchess County Fair returns for its 176th incarnation August 23-28. First held in 1842 as an agricultural fair to promote the region’s many farm producers, manufacturers, and artisans, the six-day event continues to be one of the largest and longest-running county fairs in New York State. In its long history, the fair moved around the county several times, but it found a permanent home in 1950 when the Dutchess County Agricultural Society purchased what would become known as the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. This 147-acre property in Rhinebeck is not only the location of the annual food, music, and ag fest, it also hosts a variety of other large-scale public events from car shows to crafts festivals from spring through fall. Here’s what to expect at the fairgrounds in the 2022 season.
The Rhinebeck Crafts Festival, June 25-26
More than 200 artisans and thousands of visitors will converge on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds for this annual celebration of handmade crafts. A walk through the vendor stalls will reveal clothing and knitted goods, jewelry, and a range of functional and decorative art from paintings and photography to sculptures, ceramics, and mixed media. There will also be food vendors and booths by local wineries and distilleries to keep you full and happy during a day of shopping. For younger kids, there will be a range of entertainment from puppet theater to stilts walkers.
ENY Livestock Events, July 22-23
True to its agricultural roots, the fairgrounds still has a strong emphasis on local farmers and farm products with multiple events each year. July 22-23 the fairground will host the Eastern New York Summer Classic (junior heifer show version), a livestock show with competitions for hog, lamb, and cattle, for the ENY.
176th Dutchess County Fair, August 23-28
Although it has come to be known for its high-profile music shows, fair rides, and funnel cakes, the Dutchess County Fair is at its heart still fiercely an agricultural event. There are a dozen barns housing all types of livestock and three arenas with full daily schedules of competitions, plus lots of demonstrations from milking to shearing. If that’s not your thing, there is still plenty of rides, food, and other fun to be had. On August 23 singer and ventriloquist Darci Lynne will perform and the Friday headliner on August 26 is country music chart-topper Chris Janson. There are also areas for horticulture displays, wildlife exhibits, crafts, food vendors, a working blacksmith shop, and a gas-powered engine show. Admission ranges from $13.50 for the day to a $25 weeklong pass, with music shows ticketed separately.
The Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest, September 10-11
Gourmands and oenophiles get in line because there is something for everyone at this annual celebration of life’s greatest pleasures. Local celebrity chefs will be showing off, wine experts and local vintners will be sharing information and product, and there will be hundreds of food stalls to satiate your appetite. From cooking demos to wine seminars to pantry shopping, you can do a bit of everything at this Labor Day weekend event. Despite the name, this festival also showcases local brewers and distillers in addition to the dizzying selection of wines from all over New York State.
Handcrafted Octoberfest, October 1-2
Although handcrafted items are on display at most of the events throughout the fairgrounds’ season, this festival is purely dedicated to craftsmanship. Organized by Quail Hollow, the group behind the juried Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fairs, this is a relatively new harvest festival, which rings in fall with a timely mix of Germanic and autumnal traditions and a spotlight on handmade works. Handcrafted October offers a curated selection of items in more than 10 categories plus fine art pumpkin carving, a petting zoo, craft demonstrations, and an array of family-friendly events from lawn games to carriage rides and a craft tent. Live music will play in the background all weekend as you browse through fine art, jewelry, woodworking, ceramics, textiles, and more.
Barn Star Fall Antiques at Rhinebeck, October 8-9
Celebrate the long weekend by scouting out some new vintage finds at this fall corollary to Barn Star’s spring market. Among the new and returning dealers, you’ll find all sorts of decorative and functional antiquities from fine and folk art to furniture from every era, textiles and quilts, estate jewelry, architectural salvage, dinnerware, silver, and more. Book the U-Haul.
NYS Sheep & Wool Festival, October 15-16
Sheep & Wool is the fairground’s other big banner event — a fluffy, feel-good, two-day festival of all things ovine. This celebration of the region’s thriving sheep industry and the artisanal products made with wool normally draws tens of thousands of visitors from across the country. This year, programming will be hybrid with some online events and some IRL at the fairgrounds. But fret not, there will still be plenty on offer. From demonstrations in herding, shearing, spinning, and more to a petting zoo, and endless stalls of work by fiber artists and textile makers, the Sheep & Wool festival is a field day for the senses. It’s not just sheep either, there’s a whole bar dedicated to Camelids and Cashmeres (i.e. alpacas, goats, and the like). For those on the production end of things, there are also practical offerings like a breed barn, a sheep sale, and an equipment auction.
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