BACK TO THE FAIRGROUNDS
202nd Great Schaghticoke Fair runs through Labor Day
SCHAGHTICOKE, >> The 202nd Great Schaghticoke Fair kicked off on Wednesday, bringing local families back to the fairgrounds for Dollar Day bargains.
The fair’s first day offered $1 admission and $1 ride tickets for attendees. This tradition was started a few years ago by fair manager Carly Reyna Ostrander, who was glad to welcome visitors on Wednesday after a limited event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We try to make it so that it’s affordable for everyone,” Reyna Ostrander said of the discount day, noting that the low price also drives attendance on a typically slower day.
This year’s Dollar Day was sponsored by Rensselaer County in honor of its first responders.
“Our first responders have done a tremendous job during the past year responding to the pandemic and a host of other emergencies. There is no way to thank them enough,” Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said. “Honoring our first responders on the first day of the Fair is a way for Rensselaer County to show appreciation and support, and we look forward to seeing everyone here during the holiday weekend.”
McLaughlin called the fair a great Rensselaer County tradition. “We are very excited to see the Fair returning for residents and visitors to enjoy,” he said. “For more than 200 years, the Fair has been an outstanding venue for farmers, businesses, inventors and lovers of fun, food and family, and so many memories have been made here.”
The fair will continue through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6 at the Schaghticoke Fairgrounds, located at 69 Stillwater Bridge Rd. in Schaghticoke. Gates open at 10 a.m. each day, followed by the carnival at noon.
On Thursday, for the fair’s first-ever Sensory Awareness Day sponsored by National Grid, the carnival games and rides will operate from noon to 2 p.m. without lights or sounds. This is de
signed to make the experience more approachable for anyone with heightened sensitivity.
Like Dollar Day, “It’s our hope, again, that this makes the fair accessible to everybody,” Reyna Ostrander said of the new offering, which she hopes to expand in the future.
As always, the Schaghticoke Fair is placing great emphasis on agriculture for 2021. Visitors can see chickens, goats, sheep, cows, horses and more throughout the fairgrounds. Many of these animals are being shown by youth from Rensselaer County 4-H. The fair also opened its shows to members of Saratoga County 4-H this year.
Since the start of the pandemic, the importance of agriculture has become more apparent, inspiring this year’s fair theme of “Agriculture is Essential.”
Reyna Ostrander explained, “I think, if anything, 2020 taught us to appreciate our everyday lives, some of the stuff we took for granted, and farmers and agriculture — and that really is what the fair is about.”
Adult admission to the fair is $12 each. Children age 13 and younger are free to attend. Grandstand events — such as the rodeo on Saturday, tractor pulls on Sunday and the Demolition Derby on Monday — will require an additional $2 ticket purchased online. For Senior Citizen Day, on Thursday, general admission will be discounted to $5 for anyone age 62 or older. Tickets to the fair and grandstand events, as well as unlimited ride wristbands, can be purchased online at www.schaghticokefair.com.
More information about the 2021 Schaghticoke Fair, including a detailed schedule of events, can be found online at www.schaghticokefair.com.