Queens County Farm fair returns next month

The Queens County Farm’s annual fair will begin on Sept. 10, 2021.  Photo by Matthew Borowick

By Jacob Kaye

The Queens County Farm took inspiration from a moo-ving piece of pop art to design its three-acre corn maze for the upcoming Queens County Fair next month.

The 38th Annual festival, taking place from Sept. 10 through 12, will feature the corn labyrinth shaped by Andy Warhol’s “Cow,” the first of a series of wallpaper designs the famed artist created in the late 1960s.

“Queens County Fair will be moovelous this year,” said Jennifer Walden Weprin, the executive director of the Queens County Farm Museum. “We are udderly excited to present Andy Warhol’s Cow in The Amazing Maize Maze.”

While the fair was canceled last year because of the pandemic, it’ll come back in full force this year, with an additional day to make up for some of the lost time.

In addition to the maze, the fair will feature the annual Blue Ribbon Competition, live music, the New York State Maple Syrup exhibit, carnival rides, games, corn husting and pie eating competitions, a scavenger hunt, hay rides and more.

On Friday, Sept. 10, the live stage will be graced with performances from DJ Nebraska and Malik Work. Saturday and Sunday will feature David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, the all women Afro-Brazilian Samba Reggae Percussion Band, rock n’ roller Shannon Breeze, the Midnight Radio Show fairytale variety show and Li Liu Acrobat and the Perfect Catch Juggling Duo.

On Saturday, the Queens Farm will give away free daffodil bulbs in partnership with New Yorkers for Parks’ Daffodil Project in honor of the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

“New Yorkers for Parks is honored to partner with the Queens County Farm Museum to plant thousands of daffodil bulbs through The Daffodil Project,” said Adam Ganser, the executive director of New Yorkers for Parks. “This annual effort is a memorial to those we’ve lost, and yet also reminds us of how we can grow and heal together. Together, our organizations will continue making green open spaces more beautiful, accessible and meaningful to New Yorkers.”

The farm’s Adriance Farmhouse will be open for guided tours and cooking demonstrations, marking the first time the 18th-century house will be open since the pandemic began.

The fair will be open on Friday, Sept. 10, from 3:30 through 8:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 11 and Sunday, Sept. 12, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Tickets cost $14 on Friday, $20 on Saturday and $15 on Sunday. They can be purchased at queensfarm.org.

The maze will be open every weekend through Halloween.