Innocent Recreation – The Development of the Agricultural Fair is the topic of the January program meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 10 at Greece Town Hall, 1 Vince Toffany Boulevard.
Guest speaker Lynn Belluscio, curator of the Jell-O Museum in Leroy, will present the program that she orginally showcased at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
In 1812, Elkanah Watson exhibited three Merino sheep under the elm trees on the square in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The success of this humble agricultural exhibition encouraged Watson to develop the Berkshire System for Agricultural Society Fairs which became the basis for all county and state fairs. In New York, Otsego County and Jefferson County were some of the first counties to hold agricultural society fairs. Watson developed a variety of activities that showcased the agricultural community, everything from parades to pastoral balls. He was often criticized for his diversions, but he rationalized that it was necessary to offer activities for the entire family in order to attract the entire community to the fair.
Reservations for the free program are not necessary. For more inforamtion call 585-225-7221 or visit http://www.greecehistoricalsociety.net.
Beginning January 8, the Greece Historical Museum, located at 595 Long Pond Road, will have new hours on Sundays and will be open to the public from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Monday office hours will remain the same, 10 a.m. until noon.
