Fair Masters Kris Shultz, Kristin Shultz and Sheri Forness are eager for visitors to experience it all and appreciate the work that goes into the presentation.
“It’s a celebration of this country and how we got to where we are now,” said Kris Shultz. “(The Fair) is an integral part of late summer things to do in this area.”
While the Fair at New Boston normally focuses on a certain year in the 30-year timeframe from the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, this time out it will encompass it all.
This allows more reenactors to join the fair in 2024 and with that will come a fresh take on the popular battle reenactment in presenting Shay’s Rebellion, a 1780 uprising over taxation fought by Massachusetts citizens against the government. The battle will be at 2 p.m. both days.
Along those lines, a popular attraction from last year, The Swordsmanship Museum and Academy of Michigan will return with even more participants to display recreations of 18th Century European martial arts and even more examples of weapons of period.
For something lighter, Prof. Thompson S. Gunn will present his Mystic Arts of Asia, the Far East and India show. Gunn, also known as Thomas Nealeigh, whose parents were involved in the Fair, has gained national attention by having the attraction showcased on “America’s Got Talent and at the Mount Vernon, Va. celebration with a collection of 18th Century oddities from these mysterious areas.
“It’s authentic and will be something to see,” Kris Shultz said.
Presidential election years often get the Fair treatment and this year will see something of a throwback to a throwback. A year ago, President James Madison attended the event but this year will find him as an aspiring future president then known as Congressman Madison.
Fair organizers endured a sad moment earlier this year when Donna Ward, a founding member of the Fair with husband Dick, passed away. She was the last active founder of the Fair, even limitedly participating in 2023.
She’ll be honored during the opening ceremony and at a tribute table at the Gypsy Frog Food Company she was associated with that specializes in peaches and pound cake. Her daughter, Sheri Forness, continues the legacy as one of the current Fair Masters.
Visitors will also find three taverns to quench their thirst, dining, vendors, the Native American village and many of the other hallmarks that have made this a tradition. Kris Shultz, who takes two weeks off annually to devote to the Fair, confessed it gets harder to put together each year as volunteer participation drops off, but the members of the George Rogers Clark Heritage Assn. are determined to make it happen.
“It’s an extraordinary amount of work and we are always encouraging more people to be involved so we can continue to create the experience for those who come to see and talk to our members. This is entirely volunteer-driven, a nonprofit educational event and not a soul is paid and money from admission goes back into our programming, education and outreach events. We’re still blessed to do it after 42 years,” he said.
How to go
What: Fair at New Boston
Where: George Rogers Clark Park, 930 S. Tecumseh Road, Springfield
Cost: $10 for single-day tickets for ages 12 and older and $15 for a two-day ticket; active duty military, veterans and first responders with ID tickets are $8 single-day and $12 for two days; children ages 6-11 are $6 per day and $9 for two days, and ages 5 and younger are admitted free.
More info: grcha.org/fair-new-boston
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