CHATHAM — Advance tickets for the 177th annual Columbia County Fair are now on sale throughout the region for the fair which takes place this year Aug. 30 through Sept. 4 at the Chatham Fairgrounds.
Advance tickets are available now at the Fair Office at the fairgrounds off Route 203 here and starting Aug. 6 at Agway stores, Bank of Greene County branches, Price Chopper supermarkets, Ginsberg’s and Taconic Valley Lawn & Garden. Tickets are also available by mail through Aug. 17 by sending a check and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Columbia County Fair Secretary, P.O. Box 257, Chatham NY 12037. Discounted ticket order forms are available through the fair’s website at www.columbiafair.com.
Advance tickets are $8 and may be used any day of the six-day fair, according to Fair Manager Angelo Nero. Parking is free and children ages 12 and under get in free throughout the fair. Active military personnel with ID or in uniform are also admitted free. On Thursday, Aug. 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., senior citizens ages 62 and over, will be admitted for $5 and youth ages 18 and under will be admitted free. Advance sale tickets may be used at all six days of the fair which runs daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. except for opening day, when gates open at noon.
“Advance tickets continue to be a great bargain and save time waiting in line at the gate,” said Nero of the popular, long-standing tradition. At the gate, adults are admitted for $10 daily except for Sunday, Sept. 3 when tickets will be $15 as country music star Travis Tritt performs in front of the grandstand at 7 p.m. “Here’s a Quarter,” “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore” and “Foolish Pride” are just a few of the Georgia native’s Billboard number one singles.
The perennial showcase of Columbia County agriculture, contests, exhibits and demonstrations are highlights of the end-of-the-summer tradition. Other attractions include the traditional Schoolgirl Queen pageant, Firefighters’ Parade, two nights of Demolition Derby, the TerranceB Mentalist Show, Monster Tractor Pull, Painted Pony Rodeo, “Holiday Cookie Championship,” racing pigs, exotic animal petting zoo with camel rides, “Columbia County’s Got Talent” competition, Amusements of America midway rides, Cincinnati Circus, Kenya Safari Acrobats and more than 200 other shows, contests and attractions. Details are posted online at www.columbiafair.com.
Presented by the nonprofit Columbia County Agricultural Society, the Fair is sponsored by A. Colarusso & Son Inc., Hudson River Bank & Trust Co. Foundation, Peckham Industries Inc., Columbia-Greene Community College, The Cat 98.5 FM/Oldies 93.5 FM/WRWD 106.9 FM-1230 AM, Columbia Memorial Health, Hudson River Tractor Co., Madsen Overhead Doors, Columbia-Greene Media, Stewart’s Shops, Columbia Tractor, Ginsberg’s Foods, W&B Golf Carts Inc., Mid-Hudson Cablevision Inc., Agway of Chatham-Millerton-Claverack-Gt. Barrington, The Bank of Greene County Foundation, “Choose Columbia”/Columbia Economic Development Corp., Crossroads Ford, Herrington Fuels Inc., Kinderhook Bank, Mario’s True Value Home Center Inc., MetzWood Insurance, Mulhern Gas Co., Pepsi Bottling Group of Albany, S.T. Hudson’s Son Plumbing & HVAC, The Columbia Paper, Valley Energy, Berkshire Bank, Carolina Eastern-Vail Inc., COARC, Columbia County Sportsmen’s Federation, Dell’s Plumbing Heating & A/C Inc., The Lofgren Agency, Columbia County Tourism, Kozel’s Restaurant, Old Ghent Realty Inc., Pattison, Koskey, Howe & Bucci CPA’s PC, Samascott’s Garden Market, Photo Art by Ken Bovat, Trustco Bank, Claverack Pump Service LLC, Price Chopper Supermarkets, 107.7 WGNA, Chatham Hardware, Flach Gymnastics Academy and Taconic Valley Lawn & Garden.