A FAMILY TRADITION
Fair-goers enjoy Washington County Fair with loved ones
GREENWICH, N.Y. » Schuylerville native Bill Dunphy sat beneath a pavilion munching French fries with his 3-year-old grandson, Connor Dunphy, of Malta.
What better way to hand down a time-honored family tradition at the Washington County Fair?
“I’m babysitting for the day, so I figured this was a good place to come,” Bill Dunphy said. “I had three kids -- two sons and a daughter -- that I brought here and now I’m bringing my grandson. Plus, I have a 1-year-old grandson. He’ll be here next year because he won’t let me out of the house without him.”
Tuesday was the weeklong event’s first full day. Wednesday is Senior Citizens Day ($6, 62 and older) while Thursday is Children’s Day when students high school age and younger are admitted free.
This is the third largest county fair in the state behind only Erie and
Dutchess counties’ and it runs through Sunday.
Josh and Mary Beranek came all the way from Marquette, Mich. for some fun because she grew up locally and her late grandfather, Gordon Wright, was fair manager for more than 20 years.
“The kids have a blast,” Josh Beranek said. “They love it here.”
“I just like the whole atmosphere, the food and the rides,” Mary said. “We’ve already been to the FFA (Future Farmers of America) petting zoo.”
Her father, Bob Wright, remembers when the fairgrounds only had a handful of buildings. Now there are dozens, filled with tens of thousands of live animals and a wide variety of exhibits.
“I like the fact that it’s still an agricultural fair compared to a lot of others,” Wright said.
“I remember as a kid, working in the 4-H pavilion, volunteering and selling food.”
Now, in the fair’s Agriculture Center, kids can try their hand at milking a mechanical cow and see how an actual milking parlor works.
In the Handmade & Homegrown building, friends Susan Getty and Dale Willie, of Hebron, admired the wide variety of art on display from colorful quilts to picturesque paintings.
“It’s beautiful, there’s a lot of talent around here,” Getty said.
Retired Saratoga Springs technology teacher Paul McCarty keeps another tradition alive by demonstrating chair caning at the fair’s Farm Museum, where he’s a volunteer crafter. “Fewer and fewer people know how to do it,” he said. “I like it. It’s a form of relaxation. I live at the fair. I enjoy meeting people and sharing experiences.”
A few feet away, Roger Abrahamson of Minneapolis, Minn., performs with early-American woodturning tools.
“This was a big part of life around here at one time, with the Hudson River nearby,” he said. “Things made in small towns were shipped to all the big cities on the East Coast. I travel the country doing this demonstration. This is one fair I really look forward to each year. It’s beautiful here.”
For information and a schedule of activities go to: washingtoncountyfair.com.