On Sunday, October 25, both of Redding's farm institutions open at 11 a.m. Redding Grange No. 15 runs its fifth annual Agricultural Fair from 11 to 3 at its hall at 399 Newtown Turnpike. New Pond Farm Education Center holds a free Open Day from 11 to 2 at 101 Marchant Road in West Redding.
At New Pond Farm, the farm puts itself on display. At the Grange, the people of Redding supply the display. The pies, pickles, gourds, chickens, and photographs on the Grange tables come from neighbors' kitchens, gardens, and workshops, and the judges start at the same hour New Pond Farm opens. For anyone who wants a jar of jam on those tables, the weekend starts this Friday, October 23, at 4 p.m.
The fair starts on Friday
The Redding Grange posts a registration schedule that runs ahead of the fair by two days.
- Friday, October 23, 4 to 7 p.m. Pre-registration for nonperishable items.
- Saturday, October 24, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A second pre-registration window for nonperishables.
- Sunday, October 25, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Entry registration for perishables and all other items.
- Sunday, 11 a.m. Judging begins, and ribbons are awarded.
- Sunday, after 3 p.m. Entrants pick up their items.
Under "Admission," the fair page lists a suggested donation of $2 per entry, the only price it gives. The split between Friday and Sunday follows from what is being judged. A carved bowl or a framed photograph can wait two days on a table. A loaf of bread can't, so baked goods and other perishables are registered Sunday morning before judging starts.
What the judges will see
The Grange gives its 2026 categories titles that read like a small-town crossword. Each title names what the category covers, and the full list is on the Redding Grange fair page.
| Category as the Grange titles it | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Feeling Saucy | All sauces |
| Home(made) on the Grange | Baked goods |
| Finest-Feathered Fowl Friend | Poultry |
| Most Impressive Produce | Produce |
| Seasonal Flower Arrangement | Flower arrangements |
| Locally Produced Maple Syrup | Maple syrup |
| Come Out of the Woodworking | Woodworking |
| The Greatest Thing: Sliced Bread | Bread |
| Jam On | All jams |
| Pretty Pumpkins, Gorgeous Gourds & Sexy Squash | Pumpkins, gourds, and squash |
| In a Pickle | Anything pickled |
| Photography | Subjects in Redding or an adjacent town |
| Feeling Crafty | Crafts such as pottery and needlework |
The list rewards the kind of work that fills a Redding October. Maple syrup gets its own category, separate from jams and sauces. The photography category is limited to Redding and the towns next to it, so every photo entry shows somewhere a visitor could find. Pumpkins, gourds, and squash share a category, which suits the last weekend of October.
A Patch community listing calls it a "fun-sized" agricultural fair and adds goats, chickens, pumpkins, vendors, baked goods, and kids' games to the afternoon. "Fun-sized" fits. With ribbons going to entries from one town and its neighbors, a visitor has a fair chance of knowing whoever made the winning chutney.
An old hall and a young fair
The building is old and the fair is young. Redding's historic resources inventory lists the Grange hall on Newtown Turnpike as a 1912 Colonial Revival building. The Connecticut State Grange records Redding Grange #15 as organized on February 12, 1875. The Redding Grange describes itself today as an independent local chapter of the National Grange that owns and operates the hall. It says the chapter was re-organized in 2021 and runs on volunteer work and donations.
A fifth annual fair in 2026 fits that timeline, and the rest of the Grange's calendar has grown up around it. The Grange's events page shows the year so far.
- March 22. The fifth annual Seed Exchange.
- Wednesdays, July through October. A produce drive that collects extra garden harvest for people who can use fresh food.
- September 12. A hyper-local farmers' market, which the Grange calls its third-year effort toward a market in the center of town.
- Recurring Thursdays. An acoustic open mic, most recently on October 15.
Every one of these events depends on something residents bring with them, whether seeds, surplus tomatoes, a guitar, or now a jar of pickles. The produce drive's season runs through October, and the fair falls in the same month, so the extra harvest that went to the drive since July can end the season on a judging table.
Across town, a dairy opens its gate
New Pond Farm's Open Day fills the other half of the morning. The center describes itself as a 102-acre protected property, a working farm, and a Connecticut Dairy Farm of Distinction. It keeps dairy cows, Romney sheep, chickens, and pigs in season, and milking happens in its dairy barn. New Pond Farm's history page says Carmen Mathews started a summer camp there in 1975 and made it a year-round environmental education center in 1985.
The Open Day page lists the program.
- Guided walks around the property
- Time with the farm's Animal Ambassadors
- Samples of fresh New Pond Farm milk
- Fall crafts
- Family Nature Trivia, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The day is free, open to everyone, and needs no registration. The event page asks visitors not to bring dogs. New Pond Farm's visitor guidance also asks guests to stay on marked trails, not to touch electric fences or feed the animals, and to keep children with a parent.
The milk tasting connects the two events. At New Pond Farm you taste what one Redding dairy produces. At the Grange, the produce, syrup, and bread came from dozens of private kitchens and gardens around town.
Shaping the Sunday
Both events open at 11, New Pond Farm closes at 2, and the Grange runs until 3, so the order of the day mostly arranges itself.
If you're entering, you're at the Grange first. Nonperishables can be dropped off Friday evening or Saturday morning so Sunday stays open. Perishables go in between 9:30 and 11 on Sunday. Once judging starts, there are three hours to spend at New Pond Farm or anywhere else before you come back after 3 to collect your entry and any ribbon.
If you're visiting, starting at New Pond Farm at 11 puts you there for the walks and the 11:30 trivia. Arriving at the Grange afterward means the ribbons will likely be out, and the hall stays open until 3.
If you're bringing the dog, leave it home for New Pond Farm. The Open Day page asks for no dogs.
After the ribbons
New Pond Farm and the town's land organizations keep the farm calendar going into November.
- Wednesday, October 28, 1 to 2 p.m. The Redding Land Trust's nature book club meets at New Pond Farm, 101 Marchant Road, to discuss Silent Spring.
- Sunday, November 1, 10 a.m. to noon. A Celebration of the Indigenous People of Connecticut at New Pond Farm, a family program with demonstrations and activities at the farm's recreated longhouse and wigwam. The price is $15 per family for members and $20 for nonmembers.
- Sunday, November 8, 1 to 4 p.m. The Redding Historical Society's Umpawaug Schoolhouse Open House.
- Friday, November 27. The Redding Land Trust's Annual Post-Thanksgiving Hike, with location and time still to be announced.
Until then, the Grange's nonperishable window opens Friday at 4 p.m. at 399 Newtown Turnpike.
If you're curious how Redding's farm roots show up in its houses, from old barns to kitchen gardens that could produce a ribbon-winning squash, I would be glad to talk it through. Let's start a conversation with Maura Gilson-O'Donnell.
