The Orange County Fair is an annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

held in the town of Wallkill, New York. The fair began when farmers of Orange County organized an agricultural society to help promote a county fair. In 1808 they tried to organize the fair but it did not generate enough local interest. The society tried again in 1818 and held the fair until 1825. It took another sixteen years before county leaders met at the Old Stone Courthouse in

Goshen, New York Goshen is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 13,687 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the Biblical Land of Goshen. It contains a village also called Goshen, which is the county seat of Orange County ...

on September 11, 1841 and formed the Orange County Agricultural Society. That meeting was the birth of the Orange County Fair and the first fair was held on November 17, 1841 in Goshen. Since that first fair in Goshen, the fair gained in popularity and other communities wanted to host it on a rotating basis. The fair rotated locations from year to year in

Montgomery, NY Montgomery is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 23,322 at the 2020 census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, a Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec. The northern town ...

, Chester, NY,

Newburgh, NY Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, and ...

Warwick, NY Warwick is a town in the southwestern part of Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 32,027 at the 2020 census. The town contains three villages (Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick) and eight hamlets ( Amity, Bellvale, Ed ...

Washingtonville, NY Washingtonville is a village in the town of Blooming Grove, Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,657 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area a ...

Goshen, NY Goshen is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 13,687 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the Biblical Land of Goshen ...

and Middletown, NY. In 1862 the fair's permanent site in Goshen was established but by 1872 the fair was in trouble because the lease on that site was not renewed, however, a group of Orange County farmers kept the fair alive in succeeding years. It was permanently located in the Wallkill– Middletown area in 1897. The fair was cancelled during WWI from 1917–18, WWII 1942–45 & during the

covid 19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

in 2020.

Orange County Fair Speedway

The fairgrounds are also home to the

Orange County Fair Speedway Orange County Fair Speedway is a dirt oval Oval track racing, speedway in Middletown, Orange County, New York. The facility holds weekly stock car racing, stock car races and demolition derby, demolition derbies during the summer months. The t ...

, where they hold stock car races and

demolition derbies Demolition derby is a non-racing motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their veh ...

during the summer months. It is the oldest continuously operating dirt track in the United States. In 1919, a group staged an automobile race during the annual fair. The first race was a huge success, and auto racing has been an integral part of the fairgrounds ever since.http://victoryspeedway.net/ Victory Speedway

4-H And Future Farmers of America

The fair no longer maintains

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

and Future Farmers of America exhibits, Future Farmers of America hasn't been a part of the fair for a number of years and in 2012,

pulled out as well. The fair now brings in private agricultural displays and exotic animals which it considers more friendly to its customers.
4-H Won't Be At OCF

Westwood One / Pepsi Concert Series

In the 1980s and 1990s, each summer, the Orange County Fairgrounds hosted the Westwood One & Pepsi Concert Series, featuring some of the biggest names in the rock & pop music industry. Some of the music acts included:

References

{{reflist

External links

Orange County FairOrange County Fair SpeedwayThe History of Orange County Fair Speedway
Annual fairs 1843 establishments in New York (state) Fairs in the United States Orange County, New York