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You don't have to leave the city for a taste of the country lifestyle.
The 40th Annual Queens County Fair returns the weekend of September 8 - 10, bringing the city’s only corn maze, apple cider margaritas in a souvenir cup, body art, carnival rides, corn husking and pie eating competitions and more to the Queens County Farm Museum in Floral Park.
To celebrate the 40-year milestone, the three-day fair will be full of new programming. The Taste New York Pavilion will showcase food and beverage from New York State growers and producers, a tractor exhibit will highlight the evolution of farming, the Cabot Cheese Cruiser Cheese Truck will offer free mac and cheese, and a Heartee Mushroom Vessel will host gourmet mushroom tastings plus recipes and education materials about vertical mushroom farming.
History buffs can indulge in historic house tours and demonstrations such as butter churning, colonial cooking and quill writing at The Colonial Lab at the Adriance Farmhouse and the Lewis Latimer House Museum’s Mobile Lewis Lab will debut its state-of-the-art mobile TinkerLab with free STEAM activities to fair-goers.
Artsy guests can take advantage of complimentary face painting, temporary tattoos, and the first-ever Growing Artists Challenge, where kids can draw their favorite farm animals for a chance to be featured in future Queens County Farm Museum maps and signage. On Sunday, Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater Puppet Mobile will perform on-site.
The county fair will also be the opening weekend of the museum's Amazing Maize Maze, inspired by the 1954 Ford tractor donated by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Hayrides are also offered.
In classic fair tradition, a best-in-show Blue Ribbon Competition is open to makers across New York who are invited to showcase their work and compete for an Award Ribbon, or a golden cow-adorned Best-in-Show trophy. The six divisions include Arts & Crafts, Culinary Arts, Vegetables, Apiculture, Flower Arranging, and Horticulture.
Thirsty? A beer garden showcasing New York State beer and cider will be curated by Queens Night Market. To eat, the Museum’s apple cider donuts and pies, plus bites from local vendors including Teriyaki Plus, CBao Asian Buns, TaDa Noodles, Tania’s Kitchen, Our Green Acres Corn, Ed’s Italian Sausage & Polish, Long Island Seafood, Cousins Maine Lobster, Wafels and Dinges, Kelli’s Funnel Cake and more. A mainstage will provide entertainment all weekend, with performances by Fogo Azul, New York’s all-women Brazilian Samba Reggae drum line; Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, The Bone Squad, Surya Botofasina Band and MOMENTNYC: Tribute to Queens.
Tickets for the 40th Annual Queens County Fair start at $15. Single, 2- and 3-Day passes are available.