It’s been a tradition in the town of Rochester for the past 12 years, but this year, the 13th Annual Rochester Country Fair will have a brand new look and feel to it thanks to a new plot of land donated by the town for the fair’s use. The land, which is located at 65 Pine St. near the Rochester Memorial School, will allow the popular event to grow bigger and better.
“The town has been very supportive of this,” said Rochester Country Fair Committee Member David Souza. “This has gone very well so far.”
A couple months ago, Souza received the green light from the town to start landscaping the property in order to get it ready for the fair. Souza has teamed up with a group of volunteers to get the ball rolling on the large project.
“We would never pull this off without the help of the community and the area that come and help us,” said Souza. “If it wasn’t for them, we would have nothing.”
Souza has three months to complete a long list of tasks to get the property ready for the big event. He will be in charge of installing a septic system and a well for a brand new bathroom building that will be built on the fairgrounds. Starting next week, Souza and his volunteers will begin constructing a fence around the entire perimeter of the property. Students from Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School will install an electrical system with the help of NSTAR in the coming weeks. A new lighting system will also be implemented.
And while all of this is happening, Souza hopes that the grass on the property will eventually grow – something that hasn’t been easy given the recent weather conditions. But he’s not worried.
“It will all work out fine,” he said. “We’ve made great progress and we’re basically on track for everything. There’s no issues, but there’s a lot to do.”
Souza says the estimated cost for the new facility will cost approximately $25,000 and will come from the fair’s account. The new electric system could cost as much as $10,000 while the septic system will be around $3,000. Despite the high figure, Souza says it’s not nearly as high as it could be thanks to the generosity of numerous local residents and businesses.
“This year is our big hit financially, but it’s all about survival,” said Souza. “If we can do a good time and have everyone come, we will be all set.”
Putting on a great event isn’t the only concern for the Committee. Souza said before he even started working on the grounds, he walked door to door to neighboring residents and explained what would be happening. His plans were welcomed with open arms.
“The neighborhood is our main concern,” he said. “We want to make sure everyone is happy.”
Keeping the happiness of local residents in mind, Souza is trying his best to make various accommodations. For instance, when the lighting system is installed, they will face into the fairgrounds in order to avoid shining into abutting properties. Also, any building that is constructed on the property will match the Rochester landscape. The bathroom building will resemble a barn in order to maintain the agriculturally sound landscape of the town.
“I wouldn’t want to look at something that’s nasty,” said Souza. “We want to make it as nice as we can.”
Some of the events featured at the fair will be a horse pull, truck pulls, farm animals, children’s games, food vendors, horseshoe throwing contests and much more. For the first time ever, the fair will have an entrance fee of $4 on Thursday evening and $5 for the weekend evenings. Children under age five will be free.
The Rochester Country Fair will be held from Thursday, August 16 through Sunday, August 19. For more information or for volunteer opportunities, contact David Souza at 508-989-3898 or send an e-mail to rochestercountryfair@comcast.net.
By Katy Fitzpatrick