A familiar sight that won't be cropping up along Delaware County roadways this year: The iconic cow signs for the Meredith Dairy Fest. Photo by Carolyn Simmons of West Laurens; shared in the Watershed Post Flickr group pool.
As if the brutal economy facing local dairy farmers wasn't bad enough: The beloved annual Meredith Dairy Fest, a highlight of the local calendar in Delaware County for 15 years running, has been cancelled.
News of the cancellation was posted on Meredith's town website in April. Members of the Meridale Fire Department, who run the event and voted not to put it on again this year, blamed it on the rain:
According to some members, the vote to cancel was based on several factors, including the vagaries of weather. Last year winds damaged tents before the start of the Dairy Fest, requiring their last-minute replacement; heavy rains then held down attendance. A few years ago, severe winds ripped down tents and forced cancellation of the event.
The Morris Tent Co. was "wonderful" about providing tents and re-securing them as needed, Hamilton said, but firefighters' worries persisted about the impact of wind on top of the hill.
"We've been really lucky nobody's been injured," Hamilton said. "Really, really lucky."
Salon writer Andrew O'Hehir, one of Delaware County's legions of weekending New Yorkers, tweets:
A dark day in the summery western Catskills. RT @thedailystar Meredith Dairy Fest over after 15 years fb.me/16fk6LAqt
— Andrew O'Hehir (@andohehir) May 31, 2012
