| AUGUST 30, 2013 -- When you’re expecting tens of thousands of visitors, it’s best to be prepared.
On Thursday — hours before the gates open today for the start of the 153rd Woodstock Fair — vendors, contestants, judges and maintenance workers were busy unloading trucks, cleaning counters and making hundreds of the last-minute adjustments required to keep a four-day festival running smoothly.
Near the main stage, several members of the Rhode Island-based Sandtasia company pasted wet sand onto a massive sculpture depicting an animal-crewed pirate ship.
“We started carving on Tuesday and we’ll be here throughout the fair,” company owner Steve Topazio said. “We’re performance artists.”
Across the grounds Thursday, bright lights shone from dozens of food booths, offering a range of options, from corn dogs or fried alligator. Carnival workers added light bulbs to carousels and pulled armfuls of stuffed animals from plastic bags.
Concession manager Bob Quattrocelli helped unload a truck in front the Woodstock Academy music department’s area.
“Today’s about stocking and prepping,” he said. “This is the largest fundraiser the department holds, with the money we raise going for musical equipment purchases and also to help pay for student trips.”
At Exhibition Hall, plates of apples were laid out near rows of closet-sized areas, each featuring a window-dressed display. Inside one of the indented spaces, members of the Senexet Grange were finishing-up their presentation, a New England-themed still-life.
“For the grange, we have a sickle, sash and Bible,” said member Debby Perry. “And, for the contest, we also have some dairy, vegetable and hand-crafted items. We won the Best in Show award last year, so we’re hopeful again this time.”
Inside the poultry and rabbit barn, hundreds of cages were filled with fresh bedding with full water dishes waiting inside. Supervisor Warren Carlow said the animals were expected to begin arriving in the afternoon.
“Then the judges will come,” he said. “We have big geese and ducks, along with pigeons and guinea pigs. It’ll be a lot louder soon.” |
