Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County announces first 4-H farm and family fair

Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County is putting its Otisville campus on the summer calendar with the first annual 4-H Farm & Family Fair, a three-day event built around youth exhibits, livestock and hands-on family activities. The fair is set for July 24-26 at the Education Center & 4-H Park, 300 Finchville Turnpike in Otisville, and admission is $5 per car.

The public schedule runs Friday, July 24 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County says the event will feature interactive games, demonstrations, craft vendors and food vendors alongside the agricultural exhibits and livestock that give the fair its 4-H focus.

The setting is as much a part of the story as the program. Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County says the Education Center and 4-H Park were envisioned as a regional educational, research and exhibition facility, and the property was built out over time after 54 acres were secured in 2013 and purchased by the organization in 2016 in the Town of Mount Hope. The site overview says it can accommodate gatherings of up to 50,000 people, giving Orange County a venue with room to grow beyond a single weekend crowd.

The fair’s layout reflects the county’s effort to connect agriculture with youth development in a public-facing way. Cornell Cooperative Extension says 4-H uses a learn-by-doing approach, and Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences says extension educators provide 4-H programming and experiences to more than 300,000 children and teens across New York State each year. In Otisville, that mission will take a more visible form through barns full of animals, educational booths and activities designed to pull in children, parents, farmers and local exhibitors at the same time.

There is also a practical side for anyone planning a visit. The fair location page warns that the park has rock roads and uneven surfaces, a detail families with strollers, older visitors and anyone hauling supplies will want to keep in mind before heading out.

Orange County has precedent for this kind of gathering at the same site. The Education Center & 4-H Park previously hosted Agriculture & Family Festival events in 2021 and 2022, and Otisville has already served as a center for agricultural programming with a multi-day show that drew the local farm community earlier this year. With Jill Van Aken, development officer at Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County, listed as the contact, the new fair looks set to build on an existing local audience rather than start from scratch.