In recent years, the Hudson Valley has become known for its lively festival scene, with maker showcases and craft fairs now peppering the calendar throughout the year. At over 40 years and counting, the biannual Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fair stands out as one of the longest-running and most beloved traditions—even earning national recognition as one of the country’s top contemporary craft shows. This Labor Day weekend, the 2025 fall edition of the fair returns to the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz to bookend the summer with a celebratory showcase of all things handmade.
The roots of the event trace back to the early 1980s, when brothers Neil and Scott Rubinstein, both woodworkers who traveled throughout the northeast exhibiting their work, decided to create a new kind of craft festival. As young fathers craving a life closer to home in the Hudson Valley, the brothers envisioned a homegrown show “for artists by artists,” where craftsmanship would take center stage. Originally planned for Woodstock, a last-minute logistical snag led them to relocate the debut event to the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz. Thus the Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fair was born, with its first show held in fall 1982.
This September’s fair will be the first Labor Day show since Neil’s passing late last year. Rubinstein, who served as Quail Hollow Events’ president for decades, never missed a single fair since 1982. The Rubinstein family has dedicated all future Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fairs to his memory—carrying on Neil’s legacy of building community and turning a grassroots idea into a nationally recognized event.
True to that legacy, the Fall 2025 Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fair brims with interactive demonstrations, live entertainment, and activities that celebrate the creative spirit. Visitors can explore the work of over 200 fine artists and makers (many of whom have been with the fair since that first year) whose work ranges from wearable fiber art and mixed media wall pieces to hand-thrown porcelain tableware, jewelry, Adirondack chairs, dining tables, and everything in between.
Live Demonstrations, Live Music, Craft Beverage Tastings, and More
The fair’s signature demonstration tent offers a rare window into how some of these one-of-a-kind pieces are made.
Courtesy of Tie-Up Textiles
Kathleen Fitzpatrick of Tie-Up Textiles will be hand-weaving on a loom in the fair’s demonstration tent.
This year’s tent includes demonstrations of fiber art from Kathleen Fitzpatrick of Tie-Up Textiles, who will be hand-weaving on a loom. New Paltz’s new pottery studio Art Attelier will be setting up wheels and inviting attendees to try their hand at throwing clay. Tori Rodriguez of Escultura Studios will be creating large-scale metal sculptures on site. Longtime fair favorite Joseph Botta of VJB Creations will return as well, carving raw wood into elegant bowls and vessels on the lathe. Jewelry-maker Marie Cuozzo of Bear’s Nest Studio will demonstrate the ancient Japanese technique of kumihimo, braiding cords on a special loom to create intricate beaded necklaces and bracelets.
“We really want to create a space where visitors can learn about techniques that they might not have considered before, whether historical or modern,” says Ola Rubinstein, the fair’s co-director and Neil’s daughter-in-law. “The process of creating an object isn’t one that we think about that often because we are so removed from the pieces and goods that we purchase, particularly when we buy them online, but even when we buy them in person. We continue to want to offer that unique experience where the visitor can connect with the maker and the artist and really learn about that piece that they might take home with them, or maybe just leave the show feeling inspired to create something themselves.”
The festival’s family-friendly ethos is on full display with a children’s craft tent open all weekend with seasonal art projects and freeform crafting using materials generously donated by the fair’s exhibitors. The staffed, supervised tent is complimentary, giving parents and caretakers the option to drop off little ones for some hands-on fun while they browse, or join in and craft alongside them.
Attendees can also enjoy live music performances each day, a craft beer garden, and tastings from local wineries and distilleries. Prepared food vendors will be cooking up everything from barbeque to vegetarian fare on-site, and artisan food makers will offer gourmet pantry specialties to take home. It all adds up to a vibrant atmosphere that blends art, entertainment, and the flavors of the Hudson Valley.
With so much to see, do, taste, and experience, it’s easy to make a full day of the fair and still have more to come back for on a second or even third day. The Woodstock-New Paltz Art & Crafts Fair will be open Saturday through Monday of Labor Day weekend, August 30-September 1 at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz, rain or shine. For tickets, a full exhibitor list, the live music schedule, and more information about the Fall 2025 fair, visit QuailHollow.com.
