unofficial end to summer

Labor Day is associated as the unofficial end to summer as summer vacations come to a close and kids go back to school. This year, I spent my Labor Day at the Schaghticoke Fair which has been a staple in Rensselaer County for the past 194 years, which makes it the third oldest fair in New York State.

I must say, if you ever plan on making the trip to the Schaghticoke fair, Monday may be the best day to go as it is when you can catch the demolition derby. What's better than watching cars get smashed, run over and even get caught on fire?




Here, the Rugrats car was showing off it's paint job prior to the first heat.




It does not take long after the countdown ends until drivers start crashing their cars into each other until the car refuses to go any further.



I believe this was the fourth heat that had the most drivers, at 15 and was by far the most exciting. These drivers meant business and had no mercy for the car next to them. Even the crowd had to duck from the amount of mud that was being splattered into the crowd, which reminds me, always sit in the back!



At this point, all you could smell was anti-freeze, gasoline, dirt and sweat. These firemen did an awesome job keeping the drivers and spectators safe during these five heats and ensured that no fire got out of hand.




Putting out fires during the duration of the derby is a common sight and luckily today, no one was injured.

Now let's talk about the sights, people watching, rides, attractions and of course, the food! Only at a town fair will you see fried oreos, fried pop-tarts and fried milky-ways! No, I do not have the stomach to even try any of these fried "specialties" but I did help myself to some cotton candy shaved Alaskan ice, which was delicious and about four sizes too big!

Now on to the sights that you will see at the fair, besides the average fair games that are extremely difficult to win, the Schaghticoke fair claimed to house a "headless woman" who was still alive. No, I did not fork over $5 to see this apparent woman who was being kept in a state of the art hospital type room. But I did later google the headless woman and it is nothing more than an optical illusion (well duh!!) which you can buy for a mere $6,500.00, who knew.

Sure, I'll have soda!


People watching at a fair will not leave you disappointed and in fact, I guarantee you will be entertained.