The Great Danbury State Fair - Presentation & Signing

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Danbury Library
Farioly Program Room

Event Details

The Danbury Fair was first held in 1869 under a borrowed tent. It thrived for more than a century on the same patch of ground, expanding and becoming an entity operated by a family corporation and worth millions. Under the management of oil magnate John W. Leahy, the fair retained its great hometown appeal even as city dwellers flocked to the fairgrounds by the thousands.The Great Danbury State Fair, a history of the 112-year-old event, was published by History Press in 2015. Author Andrea Zimmermann spins her extensive research and interviews with farmers, concessionaires, management, and fair-goers into a fun and fascinating story. The book includes profiles of the wealthy and innovative men who controlled the fair, and details everything from the massive displays of agriculture, the ox-pull contests, the stock-car racing and freak shows, to the unique-themed villages and the iconic giant figures on the fairgrounds. Join us for this unique presentation by the author - just in time for fall fair season! Books will be available for purchase for $20. Andrea Zimmermann is a writer, photographer, artist, and librarian with a keen interest in local history and preservation. She is the author of two other books, Eleanor Mayer's History of Cherry Grove Farm, and The Case Files of Detective Laszlo Briscoe: True Crime In Newtown 1889-1933, contributor to Letters from Sandy Hook-Newtown to the World, and editor of The Remarkable Huntingtons and three volumes of oral histories. Andrea has been a librarian for eighteen years and is currently the manager of a branch of the West Haven Library system. She was a features writer for The Newtown Bee before becoming a freelance journalist writing for The New York Times Connecticut Weekly section and regional magazines. She established and was director of the Newtown Historical Images Archive, a Historical Society project to digitize and preserve more than 3,000 photographs that document life in Newtown between 1880 and 1950. She has taught college courses on English and publicity. Andrea has a M.A. in English and Masters of Library and Information Sciences. Her freelance photographic work appears in regional magazines such as New England Boating. She is currently writing a mystery.
Event Type(s): Adults
Age Group(s): Adult

Register For Event

Success!

Oops!

You must log in to register for this event.
Oops! - There was a problem in authenticating your card:

Registration is closed