WALTON - The 137th Delaware County Fair is back and will be bigger than ever this year, so plan your vacation to include Aug. 12–17 in Walton, for the best agricultural fair in New York state.
You won’t find a better value than the Delaware County Fair. There will be over 1,000 live animals on the grounds and being shown competitively throughout the week. Enjoy over 150 vendors, diving dogs, live music every day, and an FMX stunt show on Friday — all this and more for a $10 daily admission, and children 12 and under are free. Free parking on the fairgrounds every day.
If you plan to be at the fair for more than one day, take advantage of the season pass — $20. Older adults (55+) can enjoy everything the fair has to offer for a $5 ticket on Thursday.
Everyday events include Mr. Scribbles, a caricature artist, and the kangaroo-petting tent where folks can be up close to and even hold little baby joeys. New this year is Areli Equine Entertainment on Tuesday and Wednesday. Watch expert horsemen perform western tricks, roman, rosin back, trick and stick riding.
If you or your children are artistic, the fair has an art show that all can enter. If you are a Delaware County resident, bring your paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and more to the Art Show building Friday, Aug. 9 or Saturday Aug. 10 — then come back to see if your piece has earned a ribbon. Additionally, entries for baked and canned goods, and quilting and needlework projects will be judged in the Grange building.
The Curtis Lumber Entertainment Court schedule includes an exciting lineup of new and former acts to the tent.
Buffalo Barfield, Illusionist David Garrity, and Randy’s Nashville Sound with Walton’s own Randy Hulse will be back with shows all week. Mary Frances Perricone is on at 4 p.m. Thursday and Catskill Dance Expo will perform Friday at noon.
There will be different performances every night of the week. The Woodshed Prophets will appear Monday night at 7:30; Northernstar Music karaoke competition will be Tuesday at 4 p.m. for juniors and 7 p.m. for adults; Wednesday, enjoy Driftwoods Band at 7 p.m.; The Beadle Brothers are returning with their high-energy country concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday; Nashville recording artist Canaan James will hit the stage at 5 p.m. Friday followed by the Sundown Band at 7:30; finally, the Barnyard Saints Band will close out the fair Saturday at 7 p.m.
The karaoke finals with Northernstar Music will also be Saturday at 1 p.m. All are welcome to participate, so make sure to come to the court on Tuesday.
Monday, fans will enjoy the first night of the fair’s traditional demolition derby, starting at 7 p.m. There will be another one Saturday night at 6 p.m., too. Tickets sell out quickly, so get online July 13 when tickets go on sale to get yours.
Tuesday the Heroes Parade will feature volunteer fire departments from across the county, and 4-H and other children’s organizations. The parade will start at 7 p.m. Delaware County fire personnel will be admitted free with their county-issued ID. Veterans are also admitted free, along with active military, Tuesday. As a matter of fact, all active military in uniform will be admitted free any day, all week. Grandstand admission is free for parade watchers.
Dreamland Amusements open Tuesday, with their assortment of carnival rides for all ages. This year they are also bringing five additional rides. There will be a wristband deal for discounted rates, and the annual bike giveaway is scheduled for Tuesday for children who register.
Wednesday, the featured event at the grandstand is the NYTPA Tractor Pull; Thursday’s schedule shows the gas and diesel Street Legal 4x4 Truck Pulls, Memorial Tractor Pull and Hot farms. It’s a fun run with amazing examples of power.
Free entertainment is also taking place all week including the Rockin’ Circus 65-foot high dive, Dock Dogs’ dog diving show, Agri Puppets’ agriculture-themed puppet show, and the Wheels of Agriculture trivia game show.
You can find 4-H animal show competition throughout the week. A detailed schedule of horse shows and other animal shows will be available on the website. There are horse shows every day in the horse show ring. The Tom Newman Memorial Horse Pull will be Friday night in the horse show ring and a pony pull will take place in the grandstands Friday morning.
Friday night will also bring a thrilling grandstand event — the 406 Freestyle Motocross Team. This motocross show features X-Games and Nitro Circus athletes performing heartstopping stunts on motorcycles, 4-wheelers and UTVs.
Visitors will notice the fair has grown this year, not only in activities and vendors, but in size as well. The fairgrounds are being expanded three rows into the parking area to provide more room for entertainers like Dock Dogs and Rockin’ Circus. There will also only be one entrance this year to cut down on the number of staff needed to work admissions. Take a break from the sun in the old entry gates which will remain as covered benches.
A complete schedule and grandstand tickets are available at www.delawarecountyfair.org
