A prize winning pumpkin or
a blue ribbon apple pie might seem better suited to the Amish county than a suburb
of Manhattan, but indeed, the good fun and neighborly traditions of our
agricultural heritage are thriving this weekend at the 170th Long Island Fair.
Held annually at Old
Bethpage Village Restoration, The Long Island Fair is the official New York
State sponsored County Fair for Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The event was first held as the Queens
County Fair back in 1842, when family farms dotted the landscape of Long
Island.
The event is co-sponsored
by the Agricultural Society of Queens, Nassau & Suffolk Counties, one of
the oldest agricultural societies in the United States. Originally held on member’s farms and vacant
lots in Hempstead and Mineola, the society acquired fairgrounds in 1866 on Old
Country Road in Mineola, today the site of the County Court Complex. A focal point of the fairground was the
Grand Exhibition Hall. For years, the
event was known at the Mineola Fair, before it moved to its current home at Old
Bethpage Village Restoration in 1970 where the Grand Exhibition Hall has been
reconstructed for the annual autumn celebration.
Strolling the fairgrounds
is like a walk back in time to a simpler era.
One is surrounded by the smells of food and the sounds of farm animals
and traditional fiddle music.
Inside the Grand
Exhibition Hall, the handicrafts of gardeners, bakers and quilters are
displayed, many pinned with prize-winning ribbons for “First-in-Show” awarded
by the society.
Many are forging a new
agricultural tradition on Long Island.
Restoration Farm is well represented at the fair with a bounty of autumn
vegetables transported from the nearby fields by electric tractor.
The agricultural exhibit
features the impressive yields of farmers and gardeners all over the region,
including the largest pumpkin grown on Long Island this season.
There are more than a few
bushels of locally-grown apples for snacking.
Who can resist an old-fashioned
homemade treat, like these pumpkin glazed donuts? Certainly not me!
Everywhere the fruits of the soil dazzle the
eye.
It all kind of makes you
yearn for the simplicity of a kinder and gentler time, until you realize that
moment is right now, and fortunately for Long Island residents, baking,
quilting, planting, getting your hands dirty and harvesting your own food hasn’t
gone out of style.
©2012 T.W. Barritt All
Rights Reserved
