50°
The country fair held last weekend offered activities for the whole family.
Library Director Bernadette Baldino, who is retiring at the end of the month, gave the history of the country festival and how it started off as a “potato party.” It offered live music and baked potatoes, but the library wanted to make the event into something much bigger.
“We wanted to have something that everyone could enjoy, from the youngest to the oldest,” Baldino said.
And they came up with a full day of activities — from a ring toss, cake walks and pumpkin races, to pie-eating contests, face painting and potato sack races, as well as a bean bag and cow chip toss.
But the signature event of the festival is the cow chip raffle. For $20, you get to choose a square on the library's side yard to watch and wait for the cow to "leave its chip" on a square. The owner of the square where the cow makes a deposit wins $500.
The star of the event was Reflection, a 10-year-old cow brought in from Shaggy Coos Farms on Center Road in Easton. Fair-goers excitedly watched as Reflection grazed across the grid of squares to see where she would "drop."
And if there was any doubt, Reflection is definitely a she — she is pregnant and due to give birth within the next few months.
No fair would be complete without a spread of food. This fair was no exception, with baked goods, grilled foods, popcorn, and candy, “all at old-fashioned prices,” said Lynn Zaffino, assistant director of the library.
At the end of the event, a king and queen — between the ages of 3 and 6 — were chosen. They will be given a special car and a place of honor in the library's Storybook Parade on Oct. 22.
The fair's proceeds all went to Easton Public Library.
The lucky winner of the cow chip raffle was the Gillon family.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Westport and receive free news updates.
