The 47th Annual Riverhead Country Fair takes place in downtown Riverhead Sunday, and, with the weather forecast calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, it promises to be a perfect day for the fair.
A local favorite and one of the largest in the state, the Riverhead Country Fair features craft vendors, food, carnival rides and midway games, live entertainment and local craft spirits and beverages.
The agricultural and homemakers competition boasts more than 300 competition categories to show off the efforts of local growers, crafters, artisans, bakers and vegetable decorators, with ribbons and cash prizes awarded to top entries.
The fair is held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the Peconic Riverfront and Main Street in the heart of the historic downtown district.
The Country Fair is a Riverhead staple that can trace its roots all the way back to the 1840s.
The fair as we know it was founded by Riverhead Townscape, an organization established during the American bicentennial year of 1976 to beautify downtown Riverhead.
The founders of Townscape decided to reinstitute an annual fair in Riverhead to celebrate the community’s rich agricultural heritage. Riverhead, the county seat of Suffolk, was the site of the Suffolk County fair from the 1840s until some time during the Great Depression, according to the late longtime Country Fair organizer, Jim Lull. It was then hosted by the Riverhead Agricultural Society, the fair had been held on property that came to be known as the fair grounds, just north of Pulaski Street. After the Great Depression, it was held erratically until 1976, when it was resurrected by Townscape.
It has been held every year, rain or shine, ever since, with the exception of 2020, when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scenes from the 2022 Country Fair (RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti):
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