Everyone’s getting in on the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival while they still can, and the event producers at Quail Hollow are no exception. After all, Woodstock was officially titled a “Music & Art Fair,” wasn’t it? So, in addition to hawking any number of beautiful objects that will be calling your name and demanding to brighten up your home’s feng shui, the Labor Day 2019 edition of the Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fair – its 75th visit to the Ulster County Fairgrounds – will put special emphasis on its live music offerings.
There will be ten musical performers featured at the Entertainment Tent this weekend: more than at any previous iteration of the fair. Ratboy, Jr. kicks things off at noon on Saturday, followed by Shep & the Coconuts at 1:15 p.m., the beBhakti Band at 2:30 and guitar prodigy Myles Mancuso and his Band at 3:45. On Sunday, the music gets underway with All-She-Wrote featuring Larry Packer at noon, then takes a break at 1:15 p.m. for Bill Robinson’s Wildlife Show. The tunes return at 2:30 with the Phantoms, followed by Velvet Weekend at 3:45. Monday brings in Erick Erickson at noon, Vicki Russell at 1:15 p.m. and Lara Grant at 2:30.
Featuring the handiwork of 200+ juried exhibitors, the fair is staged in two huge vendor tents and two long rows of outdoor craft booths, plus separate tents for furniture, architectural crafts, local wines, beers, ciders and spirits, specialty foods and healthcare products, crafts supplies and live demonstrations. Demos this weekend will include Adirondack furniture techniques, Chinese brush painting, Mexican rugmaking, silk painting, fiber-spinning, hammock-making, woven placemats and rugs, batik wall hangings, oil and acrylic painting, stained glass, lathe-turned bowls and pens and chip-carved jewelry boxes.
Fair food is of unusually high quality, all prepared on-premises. Bringing the kids? There’s a hands-on crafts tent where you can leave them, safely supervised and busy, while you shop.
The Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fair opens to the public at 10 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, August 31 and September 1, and at 4 p.m. on Monday, September 2. Admission to the Fairgrounds costs $9 at the gate, $8 if purchased online by Friday and $12 for a full three-day weekend pass. Children aged 12 and under get in free. To see the full listing of vendors and activities, visit www.quailhollow.com (where you can also get a discount coupon by joining the e-mail list).
The Ulster County Fairgrounds are located at 249 Libertyville Road in New Paltz. Parking is free. Pro tip: Approach the site northbound from Gardiner if you really want to avoid the traffic that’s probably backed up on Route 299 all the way through New Paltz to Thruway Exit 18. Oh, and don’t forget to bring your reusable shopping bags.
Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fair, Saturday-Monday, Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 10 a.m.-5:30/4 p.m., $9, Ulster County Fairgrounds, 249 Libertyville Rd., New Paltz, www.quailhollow.com
