Words and photos by Ken Valenti
WESTPORT–To get a sense of how the Yankee Doodle Fair is going, ask an expert – say, one of the younger fairgoers.
Like Maddie Gross, who is almost 8.
“It’s a really great fair,” she said yesterday at the carnival near the Westport Library and Levitt Pavilion. “It has a lot of rides.”
A couple of her favorites: Zero Gravity, and Cliff Hanger, where riders stretch out like they’re soaring on hang gliders.
“You’re basically hanging like you’re flying and then you go up and you’re going in circles,” she said.
Her brother Jacob, who’s four and a half, liked the Wacky Shack.
“It’s really fun and I went on it with my sister,” he said.
More than rides, the Westport Womans Club’s annual tent-pole event features food, live music, carnival rides, and games for winning stuffed animals and other prizes, plus a bake sale with pies, cookies and cakes whipped up by club members.
Dating back to 1907 – the year the club was founded – the event took on its current name about 40 years ago, said fair director Vivian Hsu. It is the club’s biggest annual fundraiser. Hsu said the proceeds fund needs-based scholarships and grants for other organizations.
The fair continues today – its last day for this year – with a new feature, the Inclusive Sensory Hour from noon to 1 p.m. It features a reduced crowd and lower noise levels “for individuals in our neurodiverse and special education communities to experience the Fair in a more sensory-considerate environment,” the club’s website explains.
For the general public, the carnival runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 44 Imperial Ave.
Nancy Austin, president of the Women’s Club, was happy with the turnout, with a lot of loyal fairgoers returning, and a lot of new faces, she said.
“We see lots of young adults who tell us they came here as kids,” Austin said.
Fairgoer Diana Ferdman comes every year with her family.
“There’s something for all ages,” she said while her son Asher Cheung filled a clear plastic star shape with sands of different colors.
Asher, who’s 9, said he’d been on just about every ride. His favorite was the Rock Star, which lifts riders 55 feet off the ground on a flying platform.
“I just like rides that go really high, and that one goes probably the highest,” he said.
Bella Landino, 4, took part in two new kids’ activities, sporting colorful temporary tattoos while lining up beads on a plastic loop to make a bracelet with her name. Her favorite activity, she said, was “the water game.”
Bella’s mother, Lisa Landino, was learning more about the Women’s Club while helping her daughter with the bracelet.
“It’s a great time,” she said of the fair. “Very kid friendly.”
Ken Valenti
A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.
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