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DC Fair to feature new memorial garden
  
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By Francesca Olsen
From Aug. 25 through 30, the Dutchess County Fair will bring plenty of tourism to the Hudson Valley Region, not to mention fine arts and crafts, goats, and 4-H milkshakes.
This year’s fair will bring back everything standard, plus some new features, the biggest of which is a new memorial garden near the horticulture building, providing a new, shady place for families to sit. John Brady of Brady Company Distinctive Landscaping designed and built the garden at no cost for the fairgrounds.
“This is going to be here for generations,” said Bob Grems, manager of the fairgrounds.
Brady said the garden took 995 man hours to complete. Work on the garden began at the end of March. Brady said he does a lot of garden design, but tries to stay in the residential circuit.
Existing trees were taken into account, and uni-lock bricks were provided at a discount rate from Williams Lumber of Rhinebeck.
The project is meant to provide money to the fairgrounds scholarship funds. Individual bricks can be purchased for $150 to honor people associated with the fair; they will be inscribed as per the donor’s instruction. Proceeds will go into the newly created non-profit DCAS, Incorporated Scholarship and Youth Empowerment Fund.
More than $20,000 is annually earmarked for scholarships, 4-H programs and other programs that will benefit Dutchess County’s youth.
The new fund also provides money for the fair’s “Ideal Country Holiday” program, which will allow close to 1,000 children and their chaperones to attend the fair free of cost — including transportation if it is needed. Invitations will be sent through the Dutchess County Youth Bureau. Children will get free admission, four hours of free carnival rides, free lunch, and an educational component giving children who might not otherwise have the opportunity a chance to learn about agriculture and its importance in all of our lives.
Funds have not been fully raised for “Ideal Country Holiday” and donations are still being accepted. “We still need money,” said Grems. “If we don’t raise all the money, we will absorb the difference ourselves.”
This is the second year of the fair’s Green Initiative Commitment, and bigger, better and greener changes have been made. All cleaning chemicals are now environmentally friendly, and Green Initiative Coordinator Laurie Rich secured a grant for 50 clear recycling containers to be placed throughout the grounds. The fairgrounds has also reduced the number of plastic garbage can liners by 60 percent.
The new Green Initiatives tent at the fair will be at the forefront of a wind power feasibility study. A 35-foot windmill with six-foot turbine blades is presented by Green in Greene, a Greene County wind energy company. Green in Greene will conduct a yearlong wind speed study at the fairgrounds to determine whether the fairgrounds is a sustainable site for wind energy.
“We made a decision — we wanted to wrap our arms around the Green initiative,” said Grems.
Grems said the torrents of rain everyone suffered this summer has not stopped farmers from coming to the fair, and that contest entries have been flooding in. So far, there are 1,900 individual floral entries. “The numbers are coming in good despite the problems on our farms this summer,” said Grems.
This year will again feature hall after hall of livestock exhibits: more than 335 dairy cows, 74 beef cows, 242 sheep, 180 goats and 600 poultry class birds will join rabbits, pigs, llamas, alpacas and horses. Many livestock champions at the Dutchess County Fair go on to state fairs and beyond for more blue ribbons.
Farm products will also go on honored display, on the main concourse at the “Bounty of Dutchess County” exhibit. Each day of the fair, a local farmer and member of the Dutchess County Agricultural Society will be present to answer questions and inform the public about the importance of farm preservation.
The fair is also renowned for community cooking and baking contests. A delicious new addition is the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts baking championship — first prize is $200 cash and a chance to win the $1,000 national grand prize, selected after the fair season from 21 local fair winners. Entrances to the contest must be two-crust fruit pies using Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts.
Entertainment for this year’s Dutchess County Fair include 1980s hit makers Air Supply, country rocker Jason Aldean, and Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin.
Tickets for the fair can be purchased at the fairgrounds or in advance. Advance general admission to the fair is $9, and admission is $12 at the gate. Ride tickets can also be purchased in advance — and fairgoers can save big, with a 50 percent discount for advance ride ticket purchases.
For more information on the fair, including a list of where to purchase advance tickets, visit the official site at www.dutchessfair.com.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
This year’s fair will bring back everything standard, plus some new features, the biggest of which is a new memorial garden near the horticulture building, providing a new, shady place for families to sit. John Brady of Brady Company Distinctive Landscaping designed and built the garden at no cost for the fairgrounds.
“This is going to be here for generations,” said Bob Grems, manager of the fairgrounds.
Brady said the garden took 995 man hours to complete. Work on the garden began at the end of March. Brady said he does a lot of garden design, but tries to stay in the residential circuit.
Existing trees were taken into account, and uni-lock bricks were provided at a discount rate from Williams Lumber of Rhinebeck.
The project is meant to provide money to the fairgrounds scholarship funds. Individual bricks can be purchased for $150 to honor people associated with the fair; they will be inscribed as per the donor’s instruction. Proceeds will go into the newly created non-profit DCAS, Incorporated Scholarship and Youth Empowerment Fund.
More than $20,000 is annually earmarked for scholarships, 4-H programs and other programs that will benefit Dutchess County’s youth.
The new fund also provides money for the fair’s “Ideal Country Holiday” program, which will allow close to 1,000 children and their chaperones to attend the fair free of cost — including transportation if it is needed. Invitations will be sent through the Dutchess County Youth Bureau. Children will get free admission, four hours of free carnival rides, free lunch, and an educational component giving children who might not otherwise have the opportunity a chance to learn about agriculture and its importance in all of our lives.
Funds have not been fully raised for “Ideal Country Holiday” and donations are still being accepted. “We still need money,” said Grems. “If we don’t raise all the money, we will absorb the difference ourselves.”
This is the second year of the fair’s Green Initiative Commitment, and bigger, better and greener changes have been made. All cleaning chemicals are now environmentally friendly, and Green Initiative Coordinator Laurie Rich secured a grant for 50 clear recycling containers to be placed throughout the grounds. The fairgrounds has also reduced the number of plastic garbage can liners by 60 percent.
The new Green Initiatives tent at the fair will be at the forefront of a wind power feasibility study. A 35-foot windmill with six-foot turbine blades is presented by Green in Greene, a Greene County wind energy company. Green in Greene will conduct a yearlong wind speed study at the fairgrounds to determine whether the fairgrounds is a sustainable site for wind energy.
“We made a decision — we wanted to wrap our arms around the Green initiative,” said Grems.
Grems said the torrents of rain everyone suffered this summer has not stopped farmers from coming to the fair, and that contest entries have been flooding in. So far, there are 1,900 individual floral entries. “The numbers are coming in good despite the problems on our farms this summer,” said Grems.
This year will again feature hall after hall of livestock exhibits: more than 335 dairy cows, 74 beef cows, 242 sheep, 180 goats and 600 poultry class birds will join rabbits, pigs, llamas, alpacas and horses. Many livestock champions at the Dutchess County Fair go on to state fairs and beyond for more blue ribbons.
Farm products will also go on honored display, on the main concourse at the “Bounty of Dutchess County” exhibit. Each day of the fair, a local farmer and member of the Dutchess County Agricultural Society will be present to answer questions and inform the public about the importance of farm preservation.
The fair is also renowned for community cooking and baking contests. A delicious new addition is the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts baking championship — first prize is $200 cash and a chance to win the $1,000 national grand prize, selected after the fair season from 21 local fair winners. Entrances to the contest must be two-crust fruit pies using Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts.
Entertainment for this year’s Dutchess County Fair include 1980s hit makers Air Supply, country rocker Jason Aldean, and Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin.
Tickets for the fair can be purchased at the fairgrounds or in advance. Advance general admission to the fair is $9, and admission is $12 at the gate. Ride tickets can also be purchased in advance — and fairgoers can save big, with a 50 percent discount for advance ride ticket purchases.
For more information on the fair, including a list of where to purchase advance tickets, visit the official site at www.dutchessfair.com.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
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