I really enjoy my trips to the Hudson River Valley to attend weekend events. When I read about the series of County Fairs that will be held during August upstate, I wanted to start visiting them. I have been to the Dutchess County Fair for many years, but I never ventured outside that fair. I have never really explored Ulster County, so I decided to head upstate and visit the Ulster County Fair for the afternoon. It was an eye opener.
https://www.facebook.com/ulstercountyfair/
I found that the Ulster County Fair was about half the size of the Dutchess County Fair across the river. The fairgrounds are smaller than Dutchess County’s so you could tour the fair much quicker. There were lots to do at the fairgrounds and I explored the whole fair over the next three hours.
The entrance to the fair and the concessions
I first visited the Volunteer Fire Museum and the Police Museum that are only open when the fair is open. The two museums for such limited space they pack in a lot of information and displays.
The Deputy William G. King Law Enforcement Museum at the Ulster Fairgrounds houses the law enforcement collection of the late deputy. This houses several types of guns, armed equipment, badges and patches along with all sorts of gear.
The Deputy William G. King Law Enforcement Museum-The Ulster County Sheriffs Office
The museum was stocked with equipment that law enforcement has used over the last hundred years that includes batons, handcuffs and how a police station works. They even had a small jail with a gas chamber and electric chair display.
The Gas Chamber, Electric Chair and Jail displays
The main gallery of the museum
Equipment and artifacts in the museum
The Deputy Wives Association banner
The Ulster County Volunteer Fire Museum was stocked with equipment that volunteer fire departments had donated, pictures and patches of local departments and like The Police Museum staffed by volunteers from the departments who could describe the objects in the museum and what their position was in their departments.
The Ulster County Volunteer Fire Museum
The main gallery of the museum
Fire Fighter Scooby Doo protects the museum
It was a nice to talk to other volunteer fire fighters who face the issues we all face, changing ranks in the volunteers with a generation gap and trying to recruit new fire fighters. All of us still have the pride of being a fire fighter but the role seems to be changing. The museum reflected that with new ways of firefighting are being practiced but keeping the traditions alive. Both museums should be a bit more updated.
The fire truck collection at the Ulster County Volunteer Fire Museum
I next visited the Ulster County Fair Agricultural Museum and that was very interesting. The Agricultural museum displays farming over the last two hundred years from the hand and horse drawn plows and hoes to the progression of the modern tractor.
The Ulster County Fair Agricultural Museum on the Fairgrounds
The front of the museum
There are also displays on the farm kitchen and the life of a woman on the farm. There were rolls for everyone to play to make a farm work
The farm kitchen where ongoing work for the house was never finished
There was extensive collection of tractors, carriages and farm equipment through the last 100 years.
The antique tractor collection
The collection of antique carriages
The
The transition from horse drawn carriages and gas powered engines
What I liked about the museum is the group of farmers and landowners who manned the exhibits and showed how the engines worked and how the saw worked. There were demonstrations all day on the progress of their development and discussions on how they were used on the farm. The unfortunate part was there were not a lot of listener to the demonstrations.
The powered engines on display
The guys were demonstrating the engines that power everything around the farm
On the inside of the museum, there were all sorts of displays on early farming. The use of hoes both horse drawn to power and the changes in both the egg and dairy industry. Changes on the farm keep developing and are still changing.
The early hoes both by hand and by horse
The display on milking a cow
The old Egg Hatchery with weights and sorting
I found all three museums packed with information and were interesting to visit to get a perspective on Ulster County past and present. It is too bad that the three of the museums are only open during fairground events. The different organizations do a nice job manning them and displaying their artifacts in them.
The 4 H display on the egg hatcheries that are part of farm live here
After I left the museums, I toured the 4H displays. There were barn pens filled with cows, horses, rabbits, pigs and chickens. The 4H members were taking care of their animals, washing them and feeding them and the animals seemed to know that they were on display. Some of them looked like they were showing off by the way they moved around in their pens. The kids showed their pride by the way they cared for them. The way they cleaned and brushed them and cared for their pens.
The 4 H Pens in the back of the fair
The back pens had everything from lambs, sheep, rabbits, ducks, turkeys and calves. What impressed me the most was the care and love these animals got from their owners. No one looked thin or unhappy. The pens were perfectly clean, the animals were well-fed and washed and were very friendly to all the patrons. I did not see one aggressive animal.
The little calves in their pen
The ducks were really shy that day
The Chickens eating their lunch in their pen
The turkeys preparing for Thanksgiving
The baby goats staring at me
Some of the animals were trying to be charming
What I liked about the 4H stand was their food station. They had the most reasonable food at the fair. Their hot dogs were $2.00, their sodas were $1.00, and their milkshakes were $5.00 as opposed to the higher prices of the food vendors. I had a vanilla shake that the kids made, and I will tell you that there is nothing better than a fresh vanilla shake made with fresh milk and fresh ice cream made from their cows. I really enjoyed it.
I looked around at the food vendors and I could not believe the prices. Everything was so expensive. The hamburgers pulled pork sandwiches and cheesesteaks were between $12.00 to $15.00 and I thought that was too high. The zeppole and fried dough not only were $8.00 for six small zeppole but all the fried foods were sitting under heat lamps. If there were seventy or eighty people at the fair that afternoon, it was a lot. There was no reason for them to cook so much food in advance. I stopped at one pizza stand and had a slice of pizza for $6.00 and a Coke for $3.00 and it was a lot for a slice of pizza with no flavor.
The Midway at the fair with some of the concession stands
I walked around all the booths that were selling local wares and there were people selling arts and crafts and food items. There were some interesting food stuffs like local honey, jellies, syrups and baked items but again they priced them so high that it was cheaper to buy them in a grocery store. Maple syrup should not be $14.00 for a small jar. I think these vendors priced out the customers that were coming to the fair.
The 4 H display
I walked around the amusement area of the fair and that got busier by the end of the afternoon as families started to arrive during the early evening. As I walked around the rides, more and more kids were on the rides. Most of the rides were geared towards small children and I could see the teenagers watching their younger siblings enjoying themselves. They would go off with their friends as soon as the parents returned.
The Ulster County Fair Amusement area
The Amusement area at the fair
The Amusement area was busy that day
After I had visited all the attractions, amusement areas and walked around the fair about four times, I ventured out of the fair to get dinner. The options were just too expensive, and the selection was not very good. I decided to head into downtown New Platz for dinner.
As I was leaving at 6:00pm, the crowds really started to come in as the entertainment was going to start at 8:00pm. Singer Allie Colleen was headlining that night and it looked like she was going to have a big crowd. What I did not realize until later is that she is Garth Brook’s daughter and a noted Country music singer.
Singer Allie Colleen
https://www.alliecolleenmusic.com/
YouTube video on her songs
Trying to leave the fair was an experience as the traffic started to increase and you had to leave the way you came in. I could not believe that the entrance was the exit as well.
The funny part of the Ulster County Fair Grounds is that it is in the middle of farmland as opposed to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds that are on the edge of Rhinebeck. Two different fairs with two different vibes. I really felt that I was among the locals at this fair whereas the Dutchess County Fair gets people from the City and from New Jersey as well. I really did feel like a visitor.
Downtown New Paltz, NY
I parked up in Downtown New Platz and have to admit that it has not changed much since my first visit during Christmas of 2014. Parts of the downtown have attracted more expensive restaurants and there are some newer stores but the downtown still has that college vibe to it with a ‘New Age’ feel. It’s like a bigger version of Woodstock.
Downtown New Paltz, NY
https://www.townofnewpaltz.org/
https://www.iloveny.com/places-to-go/hudson-valley/spotlight-new-paltz/
I walked all around the downtown area to see all the new places to eat and shop. I got into the downtown just before things started to close. Like many other towns, New Paltz has taken a hit in their businesses when the SUNY Campus closed but it looks like new businesses are starting to open in their place. What surprised me was the prices for meals. These restaurants were not catering to the artists or the college students but more to out-of-town visitors. I have this thing about $34.00 entrees in a college town.
Downtown New Paltz in bloom in the Summer of 2024
I went to McGillicuddy’s restaurant at 84 Main Street for dinner that night. I had been there many times before when visiting New Paltz and I love the college vibe of the place. Plus, you can watch the games on the big screen TVs.
McGillicuddy’s at 84 Main Street
I ordered one of their Original Hamburgers with a side of Waffle fries and I have to tell you it was one of the best burgers that I had had in a long time. Their burgers are large and juicy and have a wonderful beefy taste (order it medium well to get a well-done burger) and it was accompanied by a large portion of waffle fries ($12.95). Everything was delicious and the service was great.
The burger and fries were delicious
What is nice about New Paltz is that it is on the opposite side of the river from all the places I normally visit like Rhinebeck and Red Hook and once out of town, you immediately get to the New York Thruway, and I was home in just over an hour.
When I revisited the fair in 2024, I refused to pay the prices for the food at the fair ($23.00 for a Gryo with a small fries and a Coke? No Way!). I headed back to Downtown New Paltz, NY. I had passed a Vietnamese restaurant on the way into town.
IPho Vietnamese Restaurant at 154 Main Street
The beautiful outside seating of the restaurant in the middle of the Summer of 2024
https://www.facebook.com/IPHOnewpaltz/
My review on TripAdvisor:
What a wonderful restaurant with excellent food and service and the prices were lower than those at the fair. Besides I was not interested in anything fried so it was a nice change. I ordered a Grilled Chicken Bahn MI sandwich and it was delicious.
The Grilled Chicken Bahn MI
Yum!
The restaurant was a nice way to end the day. It was a nice experience and fun visiting the fair. Now off to visit the Dutchess County Fair in two weeks!
My day at the Dutchess County Fair:
Day One Hundred and Nineteen-Visiting the Dutchess County Fair:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7786
Places to Visit:
The Ulster County Fair (Every August)
Ulster County Fairgrounds
249 Libertyville Road
New Paltz, NY 12561
(845) 255-1380
Open: The Fair is every August but check their website for other events
Places to Eat:
McGillicuddy’s
84 Main Street
New Paltz, NY 12561
(845) 256-9289
Open: Sunday 12:00pm-12:00am/Monday-Thursday 3:00pm-12:00pm/Friday 3:00pm-4:00am/Saturday 12:00pm-4:00am
My review on TripAdvisor:
IPho Vietnamese Restaurant
154 Main Street
New Paltz, NY 12561
(845) 225-0555
https://www.facebook.com/IPHOnewpaltz/
Open: Sunday 11:00am-8:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Saturday 11:00am-8:00pm
My review on TripAdvisor:
mywalkinmanhattan 