It's the season for the annual county and country fairs, and they can be schizophrenic affairs—earnest agricultural competitions side by side with scary rides and schlock. The carnival side of the Dutchess County Fair is Coney Island-in-the-country, featuring the usual games of chance along with a petting zoo that has a penned-in camel and a small race course where baby pigs compete. On the 4-H side, you will see teenagers taking naps with their cows, sheep shearing demonstrations, displays of blue ribbon dahlias and a long line for milkshakes made with Dutchess County milk. On the midway, there's every imaginable type of fried food and sausage sandwich. The organizers have thoughtfully recrucited the redoubtable Migliorelli Farm to have a tent as you exit the fair, so you can satisfy your craving for fruits and vegetables with heirloom and cherry tomatoes, peaches and plums, as well as leeks celery and cucumbers, which have all been grown in nearby Tivoli, NY. Dutchess County FairRhinebeck, NY August 24 - 29 Cummington FairCummington, MA August 26 - 29Columbia County FairChatham, NY September 1 - 6 The Blandford FairBlandford, MA September 3 - 6Goshen FairGoshen, CT September 4 - 6While most of us take going to these fairs for granted, there are many youngsters who cannot afford to attend and the Dutchess Fair has the Ideal Country Holiday program which sponsors nearly 1,000 children every year. Click here to donate. For a look at this year's Dutchess County Fair, scroll down this page
The food booths are graphic and caloric marvels.
A 4-H teen naps with his cows.
The petting zoo features a camel.
Sheep shearing is a county fair tradition.
It's not that difficult to win a big stuffed animal.
A rural game of chance.
What's a fair without funnel cakes?
Farming remains the raison d'être of country fairs . . .
. . . and silly games are de rigueur.
Prize-winning dahlias.
The ultimate in fried food.
Final stop before going home: The Migliorelli Farm tent.
