Questions Surround Sterling Renaissance Fair as Legal Controversy and Past Firings Resurface

The Sterling Renaissance Fair is scheduled to begin in July, following its celebration of fifty years. With the owner of the fair, Douglas Waterbury, being notorious for his several criminal charges and recent court date on April 27, 2026, fairgoers online are wondering if they should attend this season. 

Matthew Gordon, a former employee of the fair since 2012 and a retired Marine Corps veteran, was fired in 2023 by Waterbury after having his service animal on the property. Gordon is a combat veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 and Iraq in 2006. 

Gordon says he enjoyed working at the fair until things were ruined. “I was very good at what I did out there; a lot of people enjoyed it. As goofy as it sounds, I sold a lot of pickles,” Gordon said. 

Matt Gordon

In 2023, Gordon went to the property as an employee to walk the fairgrounds. This was a common practice for Gordon, so he could get adjusted to the routes and calm his anxiety. He also went to discuss a pay raise with Waterbury after being told by the manager the day prior to come back to discuss pay with the owner.

The Americans with Disabilities Act protects the rights of individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by service animals in all areas of public accommodation, even if “no pet” policies exist. Since the fair was open, Waterbury’s property served as public domain.

“I was walking into the office, and he turned to me and said, ‘there’s no dogs allowed on site,” Gordon said. “I told him she’s not a pet, she’s my service dog, and we’re just going to be walking around. He said he didn’t care and that you can’t bring her with you.”

“I told him I could and pulled up ADA to show him. He came out of the office and fired me. I asked him if I was getting fired for having a service animal, and he said that he was firing me for my attitude,” he said.

Gordon says the consensus among the patrons, vendors, and actors at the fair was that Waterbury was not a good guy, and that the fair would eventually suffer because of the way he conducted his business.  

Gordon got fired the day after he talked to the general manager of the fair, Jen, and told her he wanted to talk with Waterbury about a pay increase. Gordon had not seen a steady pay raise since 2012. Ultimately, Gordon says he does not know if he was truly fired for having a service animal on the property, or if it was because he had asked for a pay increase the day before.

 Gordon took legal action following the dispute, but he was unable to bring an ADA complaint against him. He did, however, go through the New York State Department of Civil Liberties, but still was unable to build a case.

“The legal system wasn’t able to do anything,” he said. 

Billy Waterbury, Douglas’s son, is set to take over management of the fair for this upcoming season. He made a statement in a Facebook group online stating that he will be ethical and practice business differently from his father. However, people like Matt Gordon want people to know that supporting the fair means putting money in the owner’s pocket, as Billy does not own it.

 Since being fired, every year on the first day of the fair, Gordon protests in Oswego alongside alleged victims of Waterbury with Indivisible Oswego County, a movement group for community outreach. 

 Gordon’s focus is on supporting victims of Waterbury and standing alongside them while they protest and use their voices. Gordon also says he believes it is important for someone who looks like him to stick up for people of color, women, victims, and anyone who is a minority.  “What happened to me was small in the overarching grand scheme of things, compared to what he put these women through,” he said. 

 Gordon’s experience with Waterbury is not the first of its kind. Many Facebook users take to social media groups to share their experiences of what they call being wrongfully fired. A source who would like to remain anonymous shared that they were fired from the fair after making more tips than Waterbury’s daughter, who was working there at the time. Waterbury accused the source of stealing and fired them. Gordon says this was a common practice for Waterbury, and that he would often accuse people of stealing if they made him upset separately. 

As of right now, Waterbury has never been brought to court for firing people from The Sterling Renaissance Fair.

Waterbury recently attended Oswego County Court and Oswego City Court, both on April 27, 2026. He pleaded not guilty to two charges; it is unclear which.

His charges included Attempted Bribing a Witness (Class E Felony), Attempted Rape in the Third Degree (Class A Misdemeanor), and Patronizing a Person for Prostitution in the Third Degree.