Old-fashioned fun at the Goshen Fair

Labor Day weekend is one of the big event weekends of the year in the Northwest Corner. There is of course the Historic Festival at Lime Rock Park (learn more on Page A5).

And there is the Goshen Fair, which is the opposite of the Historic Festival at the racetrack — but which is also, in some ways, the same. Both events honor an older way of life. At Lime Rock, the cars are all vintage models that recall earlier times and a simpler way of life.

The Goshen Fair commemorates the agricultural life that has been so important (and continues to be) to this part of the world.

In summer, youngsters begin to “show” the animals they’ve raised at progressively larger venues. For some, their first big show is the Jack Brown Fair hosted by the Northwest Corner’s Busy Farmers 4H Club.

As they get older, they begin to show at the annual Goshen Fair at the Goshen Fairgrounds in, you guessed it, Goshen, Conn. Often even very young farmers will spend Labor Day weekend at the fairground, taking their horses and cows/steers through a series of tests in front of judges.

For many of these youngsters, the fairground is a familiar place. Often they are part of farming families, who come every year to show their animals. It’s a tradition for families to sleep in the stalls on the hay with their cows. 

High school students, similarly, often come with other members of the FFA programs at their school. FFA originally was short for Future Farmers of America, but as the organization has expanded to include everything from environmental science to floristry, the names was turned into just an acronym.

Each year, students in the agricultural education programs at area high schools (including our own Housatonic Valley Regional High School) take turns at the petting zoo in the FFA barn at the fair. Many of them are at the fair anyway, showing their goats, rabbits, chickens, horses and cows. They don their blue corduroy FFA jackets when it’s their turn to spend time at the petting zoo. 

They don’t, of course, wear their FFA jackets when they’re sleeping in the hay with their cows. The standard outfit for night duty is a T-shirt and a pair of well-worn jeans. For showing, however, the students must dress all in white. They are judged in part on how well they do at keeping their animals clean; points can be lost if an animal leaves a dusty mark on a student farmer’s white jeans or shirt.

There is of course much more to the Goshen Fair than just agricultural competition, as anyone knows who has attended. This is a wonderful small-scale fair, perfect for young children who might not be able to cope with a large fair such as the Dutchess County Fair, or the biggest fair of them all, The Big E, aka the Eastern States Exposition, which will be held Sept. 17 to Oct. 3 in West Springfield, Mass.

The first Eastern States Exposition was held in 1917. The Goshen Fair is somewhat less venerable; it was first held in 1967 — which is still more than half a century ago.

Back in the very old times, farmers who’d spent the winter isolated in the rural outer edges of town looked forward to the annual town meeting, when everyone would gather to vote on budgets and other important matters. 

The Goshen Fair is, similarly, a social event. It’s fun. You often see people you know. There are carnival rides and games. 

And then of course there is the carnival food. Funnel cakes. Fried dough and fried every-other-vegetable-imaginable. There are flea markets.

There is entertainment, usually on a small scale, usually a magician and a comedian and a band.

Way off in a back field, it’s easy to overlook two amazing events. In one, massive animals pull sleds of concrete blocks several feet forward, on command. It’s an extraordinary feat. 

And nearby, there is a relatively new event: lumberjack and lumberjill events that include axe throws and speed sawing. 

It’s unknown at this point whether the COVID-19 delta variant will cancel the fair again this year. It’s a good idea to check the website at www.goshenfair.org. 

But if all goes well, the fair will be held on Sept. 4, 5 and 6. Wear comfortable shoes, you’ll be walking a lot. It’s often hot and dusty at the fair. 

Admission is $10 for adults. Children under 12 are free. Admission for senior citizens is $5 on Saturday only.

The fair hours are Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Monday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. And as always: “No pets, alcoholic beverages, guns, or drugs brought in.”

File Photo by Mari Cullerton

The lumberjack and lumberjill events have become a popular attraction at the annual Goshen Fair, which at this point is still scheduled for Labor Day weekend. This photo is from a sawing competition at the 2017 fair. File Photo by Mari Cullerton

File Photo by Mari Cullerton