Hospital Fair Day 2026 - Grace Cottage Hospital

76^th Hospital Fair Day – August 1, 2026, Townshend Common, 9 am – 3 pm

Thanks to gorgeous weather, generous and enthusiastic fairgoers, and many volunteers, the 76^th Annual Grace Cottage Hospital Fair Day was a great success!

On Saturday, August 1, 2026, well over a thousand community members and visitors gathered on the Townshend Common to enjoy delicious food, bid on auction items, shop for household goods, books, and plants, listen to live music, try their luck in the raffle, show off their face paint, ride ponies, and “fish” at the Fishpond Booth, all to raise crucial funds for our Critical Access Hospital and Rural Health Clinic.

About $50,000 was raised, which, after expenses, will go toward the construction of a new primary care clinic building.

Generous community support keeps our small, independent rural hospital and clinic thriving. Grace Cottage is grateful to everyone who helped make Hospital Fair Day such a success, particularly Hospital Fair Day Co-Chairs Connie Holt and Helen Holt, whose tireless dedication and hard work make Fair Day possible.

This video captures the warm community spirit of Hospital Fair Day. Enjoy!

Hospital Fair Day Traditions

The Hospital Fair Day tradition began 76 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.