Orange County Fair (New York)
The Orange County Fair is an annual fair held in the town of Wallkill, New York. The fair began when farmers of Orange County organized an agricultural society to help promote a county fair. In 1808 they tried to organize the fair but it did not generate enough local interest. The society tried again in 1818 and held the fair until 1825. It took another sixteen years before county leaders met at the Old Stone Courthouse in Goshen, New York on September 11, 1841 and formed the Orange County Agricultural Society. That meeting was the birth of the Orange County Fair and the first fair was held on November 17, 1841 in Goshen.
Since that first fair in Goshen, the fair gained in popularity and other communities wanted to host it on a rotating basis. The fair rotated locations from year to year in Montgomery, NY, Chester, NY, Newburgh, NY, Warwick, NY, Washingtonville, NY, Goshen, NY and Middletown, NY.
In 1862 the fair's permanent site in Goshen was established but by 1872 the fair was in trouble because the lease on that site was not renewed, however, a group of Orange County farmers kept the fair alive in succeeding years.[1]
It was permanently located in the Wallkill–Middletown area in 1897.[2]
Orange County Fair Speedway
The fairgrounds are also home to the Orange County Fair Speedway, where they hold stock car races and demolition derbies during the summer months. It is the oldest continuously operating dirt track in the United States. In 1919, a group staged an automobile race during the annual fair. The first race was a huge success, and auto racing has been an integral part of the fairgrounds ever since.[3]
4-H And Future Farmers of America
The fair no longer maintains 4-H and Future Farmers of America exhibits, Future Farmers of America hasn't been a part of the fair for a number of years and in 2012, 4-H pulled out as well. The fair now brings in private agricultural displays and exotic animals which it considers more friendly to its customers.[4]
Westwood One / Pepsi Concert Series
Through the 1980s and well into the 1990s, the Orange County Fairgrounds hosted the Westwood One & Pepsi Concert Series, featuring some of the biggest names in the music industry every summer. Some of the music acts that appeared through the years included;
| Artist / Band | Tour | Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Beach Boys | August 28, 1983 | |
| Aerosmith | July 5, 1984 | |
| Orion The Hunter | July 5, 1984 | |
| .38 Special with special guest NIGHT RANGER | Back In The Saddle Tour | July 30, 1984 |
| Crosby, Stills & Nash | August 10, 1984 | |
| Huey Lewis & The News | SPORTS Tour | August 24, 1984 |
| Santana | June 30, 1985 | |
| Huey Lewis and The News | SPORTS Tour - "Power Of Love" Segment | July 18, 1985 |
| Foreigner with Special Guest Joe Walsh | August 1, 1985 | |
| Rick Springfield with Special Guest Til' Tuesday | September 1, 1985 | |
| Jackson Browne | July 6, 1986 | |
| Loverboy | July 31, 1986 | |
| Stevie Nicks with Special Guest Peter Frampton | The Rock A Little Tour | August 17, 1986 |
| Bryan Adams with Special Guest THE HOOTERS | Into The Fire Tour | June 15, 1987 |
| Heart with * Special Guest Cock Robin * | Bad Animals Tour | July 23, 1987 |
| Kenny Rogers with special guest Ronnie Milsap | August 28, 1987 | |
| HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS with special guest Bonnie Hayes and the Wild Combo | FORE! Tour | August 30, 1987 |
| Def Leppard * Special Guest Europe * | Hysteria Tour | July 26, 1988 |
| Judas Priest with Special Guest Cinderella | Mercenaries of Metal Tour | July 27, 1988 |
| Aerosmith with Special Guest Guns N' Roses | Permanent Vacation Tour / Appetite For Destruction Tour | August 7, 1988 |
| Poison | Open Up And Say...Ahh! Tour | June 2, 1989 |
| Ozzy Osbourne | No Rest For The Wicked Tour | July 2, 1989 |
| White Lion with Special Guest Vixen | Big Game Tour (Opened For Ozzy Osbourne) | July 2, 1989 |
| Bon Jovi | New Jersey Syndicate Tour | July 9, 1989 |
| Metallica | Damaged Justice Tour | July 14, 1989 |
| The Beach Boys With Special Guest Chicago | July 25, 1989 | |
| Yes | August 9, 1989 | |
| Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers with Special Guests Georgia Satellites & Del Fuegos | July 11, 1987 | |
| Kiss with Special Guest Slaughter | Hot In The Shade Tour | June 17, 1990 |
| Aerosmith with Special Guest The Black Crowes | Pump Tour | June 19, 1990 |
| Mötley Crüe with Special Guest Tesla | Dr. Feelgood World Tour / Five Man Acoustical Jam Tour | July 1, 1990 |
| Heart | The Brigade Tour | July 18, 1990 |
| Megadeth / Slayer / Anthrax / Alice In Chains | Clash Of The Titans Tour | June 27, 1991 |
| Yes | July 22, 1991 | |
| Huey Lewis and The News | Hard At Play Tour | July 24, 1991 |
| Judas Priest with Special Guest Alice Cooper | Operation Rock N' Roll Tour | August 16, 1991 |
| Bad Company with Special Guest Damn Yankees | September 2, 1991 | |
| Extreme | Pornograffiti Tour | September 11, 1991 |
| The Allman Brothers with Special Guest Jeff Healey Band | August 28, 1992 | |
| Van Halen with Special Guest Vince Neil Band | Right Here, Right Now Tour | July 6, 1993 |
| Soul Asylum / Spin Doctors / Screaming Trees | MTV Alternative Nation Tour | July 15, 1993 |
| Phish with Special Guest Blues Traveler | July 21, 1993 | |
| Def Leppard with Special Guest Ugly Kid Joe | Adrenalize Tour | July 30, 1993 |
| Metallica / Danzig / Suicidal Tendencies | Shit Hits The Shed Tour | June 17, 1994 |
| Yes | August 21, 1994 | |
| Queensrÿche | The Road To The Promised Land Tour | July 25, 1995 |
| 101.5 WPDH 20th Anniversary $20,000 Cash Bash | with Special Guest .38 SPECIAL | June 28, 1996 |
| Stephen Lynch | July 21, 1997 | |
| The Marshall Tucker Band | July 25, 2001 | |
| Buddy Jewel | July 24, 2004 | |
| Mountain / Vanilla Fudge / Canned Heat | July 27, 2004 | |
| Josh Turner | July 28, 2004 | |
| 3 | July 19, 2008 | |
| Graham Parker | October 11, 2008 |
References
- ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lN5GAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xDMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2809%2C2193801 Oldest NY County Fair
- ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Zl5GAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pjINAAAAIBAJ&pg=2562%2C2176542 How Early Farmers launched the OCF
- ↑ http://victoryspeedway.net/ Victory Speedway
- ↑ 4-H Won't Be At OCF