Above: A scene from Tannersville's Crazy Race, an annual Main Street tradition gearing up for its sixth run this weekend.
The trout are running, the weather is glorious, and the last weekend in July is packed from one end to the other with Catskills festivities of all stripes, most of them free. Whether it's an old-timey fair, a bash for the local library, or an excuse to throw a big Main Street block party, odds are this weekend has something in store for you.
DELAWARE COUNTY
"Dancers," by Halcottsville artist Alix H. Travis, one of 25 artists in eastern Delaware County who will be opening their studios to the public for the Andes/Margaretville/Roxbury Open Studios and public art tour this weekend.
Delhi's Fair on the Square
Every Friday in July, Delhi's village square comes alive for Fair On The Square, with vendors, crafts and games, live music, and a color guard presentation. If you haven't caught one yet, Friday's your last chance til the fair rolls back around in 2014.
Friday, July 26, 5pm-9:30pm. Delhi Village Square. Free admission.
Hobart Horseshoe Festival
Horseshoes are the main event at this annual shindig, which draws dedicated pitchers from miles around. But there's plenty to do for non-horseshoe-enthusiasts: Vendors, children's games, live music by the Whiskey Cross Band, and fireworks after dark.
Saturday, July 27, 10am-4pm. Hobart Community Center Park. Free admission; $15 registration for players.
Catskill Forest Festival
Love the Catskills, love our forests. This Saturday, the Catskill Forest Association throws a big forest-related party in Margaretville, with a logging competition, demonstrations, family activities, forest goods like maple candy and furniture, and more. Come get some sage advice on land management, or just have a good time.
Saturday, July 27, 10am-4pm. Margaretville Village Park. Free admission.
Sidney Summer Arts and Music Festival
This Saturday, Sidney throws a big artsy-craftsy party on Main Street, with live music, food and vendors. Grownups will ooh and aah over the crafts show and classic cars; kids will head straight for the bouncy house.
Saturday, July 27, 9am-7:30pm. Main Street, Sidney. Free admission.
Andes/Margaretville/Roxbury Open Studios
If it's a more refined arts experience you're looking for this weekend, try this tour through the working studios of eastern Delaware County. With 25 artists' studios and seven public artworks on the tour, there's a lot to take in; organizers suggest making a weekend of it.
Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, 10am-4pm both days. Various locations; plot your tour on an interactive Google map. Free admission, no reservations required.
GREENE COUNTY
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a prize pig: Grand Champion Market Hog at this year's Greene County Youth Fair, which runs through Sunday.
Greene County Youth Fair
This celebration of local youth and local agriculture kicked off Thursday, but there's still plenty of time to take in a kids' tractor pull, ogle the prizewinning dairy goats, or catch the Saturday night fireworks. Fabulous and 100 percent free.
Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, July 28. Angelo Canna Town Park, Cairo. Free admission. For a detailed schedule, see thegreenecountyyouthfair.com.
6th Annual Tannersville Crazy Race
If you can imagine it, you can build it. And if it can steer and stop, it can race down Tannersville's Main Street on Saturday. Tannersville really loves its off-kilter vehicles, on land or sea: In May, the village goes all out for the annual Crazy Boat and Rubber Duck Races.
Saturday, July 27, 11am-4pm. Main Street, Tannersville. Free admission.
Rip Van Winkle's Wacky Raft Race
Can't get enough of the wacky vehicles? The Greene County waterfront will be full of wacky rafts on Sunday. Race kicks off at noon from Riverfront Park in Athens, and winds up at Dutchman's Landing in Catskill. Along the way, there'll be live entertainment, vendors and food.
Sunday, July 28. 9am til the rafts come home. Dutchman's Landing, Catskill. Free admission.
SCHOHARIE COUNTY
A four-footed fairgoer all dolled up for the 2012 Schoharie Sunshine Fair.
Schoharie Sunshine Fair
All week long, the Cobleskill fairgrounds will be full of festivalgoers for this annual Schoharie County tradition -- not to mention carnival rides, monster trucks, racing pigs, show horses, Irish dancers, live musicians, and much more. The Sunshine Fair kicks off its week-long run on Saturday, July 27; on Wednesday, there's a grand parade at 6:30pm, with the Beekman Boys as parade marshals.
Saturday, July 27 through Saturday, August 3. Cobleskill Fairground, Grand Street, Cobleskill. Daily tickets $12; $10 seniors; free for children 12 and under. For more information and a detailed schedule, see sunshinefair.org.
SULLIVAN COUNTY
Civil War reenactors in Liberty's Walnut Mountain Park, which hosts the annual Civil War Weekend this Saturday and Sunday.
Grahamsville Old Time Fair and BBQ
When Grahamsville says "old time," they mean it: Blacksmithing, skillet tossing, ice cream making and more. (And when they say "spinning," they mean with wool, folks.) This annual fair supports Grahamsville's Time and the Valleys Museum, which has a terrific exhibit up now on the history of the New York City watershed.
Saturday, July 27, 11am-5pm. Grahamsville Fairgrounds. Free admission.
Callicoon Street Fair
A day of crafts, vendors, food and fun on the bank of the Delaware River. If you get your fill of fair food and festivities, feel free to wander off to the annual Callicoon Yard Sale happening throughout downtown. A note for out-of-towners: This is Callicoon the hamlet, not Callicoon the town, which is in an entirely different part of the county. (We know, it's confusing.)
Saturday, July 27, 9am-5pm. Lower Main Street, Callicoon. Free admission.
Civil War Weekend in Liberty
This weekend, Liberty's Walnut Mountain Park will be bristling with blue- and gray-uniformed soldiers, as several battallions of Civil War reenactors descend on the 300-acre park for two action-packed Civil War days. Meanwhile, us ordinary civilians can watch battles and demonstrations, chat up the reenactors, or buy some authentic provisions from a camp sutler.
Saturday, July 27, 9am-9pm, and Sunday, July 28, 9am-3pm. Walnut Mountain Park, Route 55W, Liberty. $10; $11 for a weekend pass. Discounts for seniors and groups; kids 5 and under free.
ULSTER COUNTY
A few of the handmade aprons up for auction this Saturday at the Woodstock Library's 82nd Annual Fair -- which also happens to be the library's 100th birthday party.
Catskill 45s Dance Party for the Phoenicia Library
In March of 2011, the beloved Phoenicia Library caught fire, destroying collections and forcing the library out of its longtime space on Main Street. But the library is rebuilding -- with a little help from friends like the Catskill 45s, a swinging bunch of locally-famous musicians who are committed to playing songs from exactly 45 years ago. (They're up to 1968 this year.) On Friday night, the Byrdcliffe Barn hosts the Catskill 45s for what is sure to be the year's most memorable benefit show. Dress '60s, please, and wear your dancingest shoes.
Friday, July 26, 7pm. Byrdcliffe Barn, Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock. $10; wine and food available from some well-known and much-loved members of the local food community.
Woodstock Library's 100th Anniversary
Party like a librarian this weekend: After spending Friday night dancing your heart out, head for Tinker Street on Saturday, where the whole town will be celebrating their library's 100th with a big, old-fashioned, multi-generational fair. This year, the Woodstock Library has a new annex to celebrate as well as its big three-digit birthday; festivities will include live music, maypole dancing, a children's parade, book sales and a handmade apron auction, live-action Where The Wild Things Are characters, and a realio, trulio 1967 Good Humor truck.
Saturday, July 27, 10am-5pm. Woodstock Library, Tinker Street and Library Lane. Free admission.
