The 150th Dutchess County Fair starts today!

The Fair always stirs up swirl of memories….

I remember when I was about 10 years old, my cousins and I would all pile into my Grandmother™s station wagon,
our clan would descend upon opening day of the Fair before the dew had a chance to dry.

Grandma™s ritual was to wander through the dairy barns with her œyoung uns in tow.
The cousins admired cows for maybe the first 15 minutes. At least we tried to develop an appreciation for the backsides of the cows with tails swishing but, truth be told, we had each been given one whole dollar, the cash was burning holes in our pockets!! In the 1960™s there were more than 40,000 cows in Dutchess County. It seemed, if Gram had her way, we were going to have to acquaint ourselves with each and every one of them.

We could hear the distant sounds of the carnival.
We knew there were delicacies to tempt our taste buds….. cotton candy, candied apples, snow cones!
We had been planning for weeks which ride we would go on first!

One by one, we joined a chorus of œGram, pleeeeeese… can we go nooowwwww?
Then we would begin to negotiate with Gram until we would break her down.

She would throw up her hands, shake her head and say, œOh… all right…. just one more barn and you can go.

Sweet freedom! Our tribe flowed down the hill to be absorbed in the throng on the midway.   We rode the tilt-a-whirl, and tried to win prizes from the carnies while we turned our toungs rainbow colors with sugary treats.

I wish Gram were still with us, I™d like her to know that I™ve grown to agree with her,
the best part of the Dutchess County Fair is on Livestock Hill. There are substantially fewer cows in the county now (somewhere around 8,000) but the livestock exhibit is a testament to farm values that are still alive and well in the Hudson Valley.

Family farms   provide organic, locally grown options that are healthier for individuals and better for the environment.

If you visit the Dutchess County Fair on Wednesday this week,
stop by the Horticulture Building. I™ll be working at the Master Gardeners information booth from 10:00am- 1:00pm

We™re going to Rhinebeck to the Dutchess County Fair!