Hospital Fair Day 2025 - Grace Cottage Hospital

75^th Hospital Fair Day – August 2, 2025, Townshend Common, 9 am – 3 pm

We enjoyed picture-perfect weather on the Townshend Common on August 2^nd, when we celebrated the 75^th annual Hospital Fair Day.

On behalf of all the patients we serve, we’d like to thank the many generous fairgoers, donors, sponsors, and the approximately 200 volunteers who made the day a huge success.

Special thanks goes to Hospital Fair Day co-chairs, Connie Holt and Helen Holt for their monumental efforts.

We are grateful to all of the many Booth chairs, the fabulous musicians (The Buzzards, Ralph Sherman & Friends, and Luminous Crush), and auctioneer Brian Tebo, from Heart Felt Antiques and Auction.

This year marked the biggest stork-led Birthday Parade (of those born at Grace Cottage) in recent memory, escorted by the wonderful Taconic Bagpipe Band. Delicious food, great bargains, games, and fun marked this day, which raised over $50,000 for Grace Cottage’s new primary care clinic building project.

Photos from the day are available here.

Hospital Fair Day Traditions

A tradition began 73 years ago, and it has been vital to Grace Cottage’s patient care ever since. The first Hospital Fair Day was held on Saturday, August 5, 1950, organized by the Grace Cottage Hospital Auxiliary, with a healthy mix of fun, fellowship, and fundraising. Thanks to the love, loyalty, and dedication of so many volunteers and fairgoers over the years, this event continues.

Grace Cottage relies on the proceeds from this annual event.

In the photo albums below, you can reminisce about past Hospital Fair Days and see some of the babies born here across the years.

Thank you for continuing to support the Annual Grace Cottage Hospital Fair Day!

Grace Cottage Babies

If you were born at Grace Cottage, send us a current picture and tell us your birth year, and we’ll add you to our virtual Birthday Baby Parade with our beloved Stork (don’t tell anyone, but it’s Dr. Timothy Shafer!)

Roll over the photo to see the name and year. Use right and left arrows to scroll through the photos.

Calvin Nystrom Jr 1949 — Calvin Nystrom, Jr. - 1949

Linda Wolf - Dot Brooks Masengale — Linda Wolf - 1954

Linda Wolf, born at Grace Cottage in 1954, with her mom, Dot Brooks Masengale

Betsy Walker Miller 1959 and Bonnie Walker Stevens 1959 — Betsy Walker Miller and Bonnie Walker Stevens 1959

Twin sisters Betsy Walker Miller and Bonnie Walker Stevens, 1959

Diane Litchfield Smith 1959 — Diane Litchfield Smith - 1959

Alesia Litchfield Fletcher, 1961 — Alesia Litchfield Fletcher - 1961

Stephen Brown 1965 — Stephen Brown - 1965

Alison Bills Brown, 1967 — Alison Bills Brown - 1967

Chad Greenwood 1973 — Chad Greenwood - 1973

Eric Nystrom, 1973 — Eric Nystrom - 1973

Andrew Nystrom, 1976 — Andrew Nystrom - 1976

Doughty Patrick - Grace Baby 1967 — Doughty Patrick - 1967

Megan Greenwood Richardson 1977 — Megan Greenwood Richardson - 1977

Sheena Ann Smith, 1981 — Sheena Ann Smith - 1981

Rachel Schmidt Jones 1990 — Rachel( Schmidt) Jones - 1990

George Sprague, 1991 — George Sprague - 1991

Kristen Schmidt Gouger 1992 — Kristen (Schmidt) Gouger - 1992

Mark Gunzinger

Mark Gunzinger, born at Grace Cottage in 1954. Eating lunch at the Ritz in London…

Rebecca Waggener 1982 — Rebecca Waggener - 1982

Reminiscing

We want to reminisce with you. We’re posting videos and photos of past Fairs. If you have photos or videos from past Hospital Fair Days that you’d like to share, e-mail them to info@gracecottage.org, and we’ll add them to the album.