Fairgrounds not just an August place to be

By Bond Brungard
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

Linda and Robert Williams have traveled from Michigan to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds to sell their alpaca wool and garments during the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck.

The event is just one of many that draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the fairgrounds each year.

''We heard this is just a tremendous event for fiber people,'' said Linda Williams, as she stocked her booth with scarves, sweaters, socks gloves and soft balls made of alpaca fiber. ''It's a wonderful opportunity to get into this show.''

The fairgrounds are home to crafts and antique sales, car shows and other seasonal events and exhibitions. But by far the biggest draw is the annual Dutchess County Fair at the fairgrounds each August. The event drew over half a million people during its six-day run this summer.

But the 260-acre complex, north of the Village of Rhinebeck along Route 9, certainly does not sit idle for the remaining 259 days each year.

There are other events, including a handful of car shows, antique and craft shows, as well as other specialized exhibits, that are conducted here each year.

''All of these (other shows and exhibits) help us maintain our payroll,'' fairgrounds manager Tom Odak said.

The fair, which marked its 158th edition this summer, has been conducted on the former grounds of Spring Brook Park since 1919. Earlier fairs were held in other communities in the county, including Pleasant Valley and Poughkeepsie.

The fairgrounds are home to livestock barns and a trotter track, as well as pavilions, exhibition halls and a food court.

The fairgrounds are always being maintained, but there have been large-scale improvements, such as the $1 million spent to renovate the food court in 2002, Odak said.

Overlooking the oval track, an old bell tower rises above a small hill. The tower is attached to a white one-room schoolhouse that served children for many years long ago. The schoolhouse was built in 1881 on Mount Ross Road in the Town of Pine Plains.

The school house was moved to the fairgrounds complex and is one of many buildings here that help illuminate the vestiges of rural and agricultural life.

''I was looking for one for five years,'' said Odak.

The fairgrounds offers endless opportunities to experience agriculture, both as producer and consumer, and the school house, which will be restored in the near future, will allow for more learning experiences.

''We have different teachers who want to come in here and have a class,'' Odak said.