Summer is all about exploring! The many fairs and festivals of the Great Western Catskills offer exciting opportunities to discover quintessential Main Streets and the scenic back roads of Delaware County, NY. Friendly faces and lively entertainment welcome you, and the handmade products, demonstrations, exhibits and displays please the senses, make for great memories and keep you coming back for more!
Kicking off the Fourth of July festivities is the Independence Day Celebration at Hanford Mills Museum in East Meredith on the fourth. Enjoy old-fashioned fun with a wide variety of family activities. Visitors can see how ice collected during February's Ice Harvest is used to make ice cream. Kids can enter the children's fishing derby, sack races, tug-of-war and frog-jumping contest (bring your own frog). Enjoy great live music, food and much more.
If art is what you’re after, take a driving tour of over 40 local artists studios. The Annual Stage Coach Run, covering locations from Delhi through Treadwell and on to Franklin, takes place July 5 and 6. Take a detour to Bovina Center for the 3rd Annual Craftskills. Browse for unique products from local artisans, crafters and food producers as music spills out onto Main Street.
Hometown fun abounds on July 12 at Arkville Fair Day, which encompasses a variety of vendors, local craft beer, music, foods and a parade with more than 50 floats, antique cars, tractors and fire departments. Don’t leave Arkville without jumping aboard the Delaware and Ulster Rail Road for that scenic ride through the Catskill Mountains.
With July almost over, enjoy the Great Delaware River Lumberjack and Hancock Fireman’s Field Days, July 25 through 27 in Hancock. Three days of everything a hometown event should be! Enjoy lumberjack competitions, craft vendors, great food and beverages, rides for the kids, and a spectacular fireworks display on Saturday night!
In Margaretville, join the celebration at the Catskill Forest & Farm Festival on July 26 where you will enjoy a day of recreation, food and drink while watching a live logging competition. At the same time, in the northern side of Delaware County, the quite hamlet of Hobart comes alive with the Annual Horseshoe Festival, offering scores of vendors and a horseshoe throwing tournament (amateur), along with Country and Western bands performing throughout the day, children’s activities, food and fun for the whole family. While in Hobart, the Book Village of the Catskills, explore the plethora of book stores along its quaint Main Street.
Also on July 26th is the Sidney Art and Music Festival, a festival dedicated to local artisans, musicians and performing artists, paired with great food, fun and children’s activities for a day of family fun.
“Antiquers” delight in the many treasure hunts the Great Western Catskills offer! In Margaretville, the Antique and Flea Market is on August 2 with over 50 vendors.
Just down the road, on August 9, Andes comes alive for Andes Community Day, keeping the memory of the Anti-Rent War alive with a parade starting at 10 a.m., exhibits, local vendors, live music, tours of the historic Hunting Tavern, and hay rides. Come enjoy a variety of events for the family, while strolling the streets of Andes, lined with great restaurants, antiques, gift shops and art galleries. The head up the road to St. James Church in Bovina for their annual Antique Fair, which combines with the town wide yard sale in the historic hamlet of Bovina Center.
But depending on who you talk to, August is all about one thing in Delaware County: the County Fair!
The Delaware County Fair is a weeklong celebration of all things agriculture and amusement, August 11 through the 16. The Fairgrounds in Walton plays host to one of the best and well-rounded event schedules of any county fair: 4-H demonstrations, tractor pulls, team penning, rollercoaster rides, demolition derbies, all topped off with a performance by Country Music sensation Easton Corbin and special guest The Voice winner Danielle Bradbery. People come back every day of the fair to experience something new and take in the entertainment.
If you are the outdoor enthusiast, you don’t want to miss the Central Catskills Great Outdoor Experience from August 22 to the 24. Enjoy hiking, biking, climbing, boating and stargazing during this three-day event in Margaretville.
With September, the kids are back to school, the smell of autumn in the air and nights are cooler, but the fairs and festivals in Delaware County are far from over. With fall foliage starting mid-September, there are festivals throughout the Great Western Catskills celebrating the agricultural bounty and artisans of the region. View the fall foliage from a chairlift at Plattekill Mountain or from a kayak on the Cannonsville or Pepacton Reservoirs.
For a complete listing of festivals and fairs, visit the Great Western Catskills Website.
