It's County Fair Time!!!

With summer vacation comes one very important event: the annual county fair.

The county fair season in New York State is up and running with the start this week of the Goshen Racing Fair and the Cortland Youth Fair.

More than 50 county and youth fairs will run from the July 4 weekend through early late September, closing out the season at the Long Island Fair Sept. 15-17 and Sept. 22-24.

The Jefferson County Fair in Watertown is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The fair, running from July 11-16, is the longest consecutively running fair in the United States.

County fairs across New York state provide fairgoers with family-friendly fun, great music and food, but also a unique opportunity to learn about local agriculture, including where our food comes from.

"Every summer, millions of New Yorkers gear up for their local county fair and take part as exhibitors, competitors and visitors," said state Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball. 

"We have a great story to tell about our farmers and the hard work they do, and the county fairs provide New Yorkers a first-hand opportunity to learn about our vital agriculture industry," Ball said.

Fairgoers can find a county fair in all 10 regions of the state. A listing of  county fairs can be found at http://www.nyfairs.org/Fairsbydate.htm