IT’S A WRAP
Steady flow of people come to Rhinebeck for last day of fair
RHINEBECK >> Closing day at the Dutchess County Fair on Sunday meant a last opportunity to catch up with cows for visitors and packing up to move onto the next agricultural showcase for participants.
“We were truly blessed,” fair spokeswoman Vicki Imperati said. “I don’t think we’re going to break any records. We had a steady flow of people and if we can hit the 300,000 mark we’ll be happy campers.”
Imperati said the biggest evening may have been Thursday because of the discount and cool weather.
“There were a lot of people here Thursday after five o’clock, which shows that the advertising worked,” she said.
Linda Tangen was packing her horse and cart after finishing in first place in the Ladies Cart and the Mare Cart competitions.
She was waiting for her granddaughter Nichole Tangen to compete before making the two-hour ride home to Sprakers for a day of rest before going to Syracuse for the New York State Fair.
“We’ll go home tonight, pack up tomorrow, take off on Tuesday, and in between she has a dentist appointment,” Linda Tangen said.
Hilby, the Skinny German Juggle Boy, gave three performances each day of the fair and on Sunday said he also would be headed for Syracuse.
He said the crowds in Rhinebeck were very responsive to an act that includes juggling, riding a unicycle, and humor that lured the audience in with self-deprecating jokes.
“Today might be the hardest day just because the temperature is the hottest,” he said.
“One could make the point that the last day is the easiest because you know you’re going home and it’s the hardest because you know you’re going home.”
LaGrange resident Jill Siegel was a bit surprised that it was the final day of the fair but after some six years since her last visit was glad to reconnect with the cows. She was having her friend Rebecca Schneider, of Kingston, take her picture to make sure the memory was captured.
“I think I’ve bonded with her,” said Siegel, giving
the cow a pat on the head. “We wanted to see the animals but we also wanted the food.
“We want the fried food.”
Ryan Dowden is a part-time staff member for the fairgrounds who put in full days assisting drivers with parking. As 27-year-old lifetime Rhinebeck resident, he knows the role each fair
plays in having people depart with a good impression of the community.
“You have to be polite because we are here at the will of the public so it’s important that we get them in safely,” he said. “It’s not just the people who come to enjoy the fair but the vendors who have a booth. We want people to leave feeling like they had a good time.”