OPENING DAY
Schaghticoke Fair opens for 200th year
The Schaghticoke Fair’s 200th anniversary celebration is underway, with festivities planned through Labor Day.
Opening day, also $1 day, brought thousands of attendees out to the fairgrounds in rural Rensselaer County, not far from the Saratoga County line.
The fair will continue through Monday, Labor Day, with hours from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.
Scheduled throughout the week are some special activities including a concert by country star Trace Adkins in the grandstand on Thursday and a big 200th anniversary parade featuring local emergency responders, elected officials and 4-H members on Saturday, followed by fireworks.
Other annual fair favorites are the pig races, tractor pulls, rodeo and demolition derby.
New to the entertainment lineup this year is Circus Incredible, featuring Lyric Wallenda of the world-famous Wallenda circus family, along with her husband, Simon Arestov, and their two-year-old son, Alex, an eighth-generation circus performer.
“This is our first time here, and we’re super excited to be here. We do a lot of fairs in New York, and we always hear great things about Schaghticoke,” Wallenda said on Wednesday, just before their first show of the week.
“We’ve tried to step up the game for the 200th,” said fair manager Carly Reyna Ostrander.
Planning for this week’s anniversary fair began two years ago when a 200th committee was formed.
All over the fairgrounds, from the carnival to the cow barns, 200th anniversary signage is displayed. “The theme is just sort of very celebratory,” Reyna Ostrander said, noting that a birthday party will be held at 2 p.m. daily in the New York State products building, where there is also a 200th anniversary historical display.
Another major part of the fair is animals, many of which are brought to the fair by the youth of 4-H.
“It’s a good time to just hang out with friends and be able to show off all your hard work that you’ve done with your animal all year,” 4-H member Rachel Sargood of C&J Stony Creek Farm in West Hoosick, while giving her cow, Victoria, a drink of water on Wednesday.
“Coming to the fair is an evaluation for the kids,” explained Bernie Wiesen, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County, which has partnered with the fair for more than 100 years. “They work really hard on developing these skills year-round.”
Lots of local families have attended the Schaghticoke Fair for many generations.
“I’ve been to this fair since I was a little boy. It’s my favorite fair,” said John Cipperly, of Hoosick Falls business JC Tractor Repair & Restoration, which sponsored the fair’s grandstand this year. “I like to be a part of it.”
Last summer, more than 101,000 people came through the gates of the Schaghticoke Fair, and this year organizers hope to exceed that record for the 200th anniversary.
Admission to the Schaghticoke Fair is free for children age 13 and younger, and $12 each for adults, at the gate.
Parking is free at the fairgrounds.
More information about the 200th annual Schaghticoke Fair, including a full schedule of events, is available online at www.schaghticokefair.com.