GREAT SCHAGHTICOKE FAIR STARTS AUG. 30
Admission will be $1 on Wednesday
SCHAGHTICOKE, N.Y.» The town of Schaghticoke is gearing up for the 198th annual Great Schaghticoke Fair.
In addition to being the last summer fair in the Capital Region, the Schaghticoke Fair is the longest-running in the area, with a nearly 200-year history. It is also the third oldest fair in the state.
This year’s fair will run from Wednesday, Aug. 30 to Labor Day, Sept. 4 with animals, activities, exhibits, rides, games and entertainment each day.
For the first time ever, the Schaghticoke Fair is opening with $1 Day. All day on Wednesday, Aug. 30, adult admission will be just a buck, along with $1 rides, games and food items.
This new promotion was established in response to some people saying the fair was too expensive, said fair manager Carly Reyna, who is now in her third year running the Schaghticoke Fair.
“We’re one of the last fairs of the summer so we wanted things to be affordable,” she said.
So, management decided to make Wednesday, which typically has the lowest attendance, a
bargain by charging only $1 per person.
The Dollar Day aims to drive attendance on Wednesday and rectify the affordability issue that some complained about.
“We’re hoping that makes it more doable for folks,” Reyna said. “Maybe it means people that couldn’t afford to come, do come. Maybe it means people come a second day.”
The remainder of the week, adult admission will be $11, including access to the grandstand and stage areas. As always, admission for children younger than 13 is free and all-day wristbands for all midway rides will be available each day.
The fair is pleased to bring demolition derbies, truck pulls, tractor pulls, the rodeo and several other grandstand shows for its 2017 fair-goers.
Performances this year include those by The Drifters, The Carla Page Band, The Oldies Show, bellydancers and a Jason Aldean tribute act.
Attendees can also enjoy crafts, homemaking, grange and horticultural displays, along with livestock shows and the veteran’s hall.
Another area fair management expanded this year due to community feedback is free grounds entertainment, particularly acts involving animals. Featured this year are interactive stingray and butterfly educational exhibitions, the Hollywood famous Bears of Bearadise Ranch, The Pork Chop Review pig show, The Buffalo Barfield Music Show, Gary the Silent Clown, The Wade Henry Show, Al the Artist and more.
One more visible change, as part of a $5 million grant for New York state’s fairs, Schaghticoke Fair invested part of its share toward an additional outdoor riding arena for the horse exhibitors. While Reyna hopes this will attract more horse
exhibitors to the fair, it will definitely create a better, safer warm-up space for those who attend.
Returning adult patrons will notice a high tech new option in the beer garden. The first beer tent was brought to the longtime dry fair in 2015, Reyna’s first year, and now it’s expanding this offering. This year, it will have a live video stream of the nearby entertainment, such as the demolition derby, tractor pulls, concerts and rodeo.
“[It will show] everything on the grandstand and everything on the stage,” Reyna said, hoping this will appeal to those who want to sit down and have a drink, but still see the attractions.
With these changes, Reyna’s goal for the 2017 Schaghticoke Fair is to hit 100,000 in attendance, a goal she’s been working at in her three years since becoming fair manager. Last year’s turnout was just more than 97,000.
“It has eluded me and we’ve come so close,” she said, noting that weather is often the biggest attendance factor.
But what many people come for, as they have been for nearly two centuries, is the agriculture.
“We, of course, have all of the 4-Hand open animal exhibits: the goats, the cows, the horses,” Reyna said.
The Schaghticoke Fair takes pride in maintaining its agricultural roots. “We are really proud here to say that we have a booming animal exhibit across the departments — goats, grange, sheep, horses, cows — a booming population with regard to entries,” Reyna said, noting that it’s in both 4-H and open categories.
Especially while other fairs have become more entertainment and midwaydriven, Reyna said, “I feel like now, as times change, it’s definitely a delicate balance. How do you reach out to folks that are further and further removed from the farm and agriculture and animals?”
Nevertheless, it’s something the local fair aims to achieve with each season.
“We’ve worked really hard to find that balance,” Reyna continued. “I’m certainly very proud, I know the board is also, of that fact that 198 years and they’ve not lost touch with what the original purpose of the fair was, which was to bring people together and to celebrate agriculture.”
More information about the 198th annual Great Schaghticoke Fair, included a full event schedule, is available online at www. schaghticokefair.com.