Kicking off Sunday and continuing through Saturday, July 30, the 148th Bedford County Fair is the first in the region, and the fair committee is looking forward to the festivities.

“We had attendance-wise one of the best fairs ever last year; it was packed every day,” said John Holbert, fair vice president.

Holbert said the pandemic curtailed fairs and after two years, “people wanted to get out.”

“We usually get one night when the lots are packed, but it was that way about every night” last year, he said.

Jakob Bechtel of Curryville cleans a stall at the 70th annual Morrisons Cove Dairy Show at Morrison Cove Park, Martinsburg, on Aug. 5, 2021. Mirror file photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Always a crowd favorite, racing pigs are returning to this year’s fair, Holbert said, adding that along with entertainment each night and midway rides, about 75 vendors will be on hand selling fair foods and other items. The grandstand entertainment includes demolition derbies on Tuesday and Thursday, bull riding on Wednesday and auto racing on Friday.

Bedford fair officials are waiting to see how attendance goes this year but are hoping for another banner year.

One exhibit missing at Bedford and from all state fairs this year is poultry — live animals, feathers, eggs and other parts and items made of these parts, due to the avian flu. Since the flu is waning in the state, organizers said hopefully next year will see the return of poultry, a good 4-H and FFA project for kids unable to compete with larger animals such as steers and swine.

Big business

In 2021, Pennsylvania fairs attracted more than 4.5 million people, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

Norah Bechtel of Curryville offers a grain treat to Clinique, one of her Brown Swiss dairy cows competing at the 70th annual Morrisons Cove Dairy Show at Morrison Cove Park, Martinsburg, on Aug. 5, 2021. This year, the Morrisons Cove Dairy Show will run from Aug. 1-5 at Morrisons Cove Memorial Park. Mirror file photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Fairs, known for showcasing youth livestock projects, baked goods and more, have morphed into entertainment venues that now constitute what is nearly a $50 million industry, according to the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs.

In a study prepared for the association, the yearly total economic impact on the state is estimated at $126 million with 16% of Pennsylvania fairs attracting more than 75,000 visitors each year. At least three fairs bring in 150,000 visitors each, according to the 2013 report by Shepstone Management Co. Inc.

The study found that 35% of all fair visitors come from outside the county where they are located, drawing Pennsylvanians and others to those counties to spend money, which is good news for the local economies.

At Bedford’s fair last year, big crowds gave a much needed economic boost to not only the county but to the vendors.

“The vendors got about two years worth of business in one year,” Holbert said.

Clearfield County hosts Foreigner

As Bedford’s fair closes, the 161st Clearfield County Fair will be gearing up.

The fair, slated for July 31 to Aug. 6, will feature the Clearfield County Fair Parade followed by fireworks on opening night.

The fair is known for attracting popular musical talent, and while COVID-19 has posed some challenges, Fair Manager Greg Hallstrom said a good lineup has been assembled.

Classic rock band Foreigner will perform Wednesday, Aug. 3, while country singers Blanco Brown and Hershey native Warren Zeiders will perform Saturday, Aug. 6.

Night harness racing is on tap for Tuesday, Aug. 2, followed by a local band, The Moore Brothers, Hallstrom said.

Truck and tractor pulls will be held Thursday and Friday, Aug. 4-5.

The fair also added a new exhibit for this year, the Wild World of Animals, a wildlife organization out of Eighty Four that specializes in educational and entertaining wildlife shows for a variety of occasions and events.

Huntingdon shows Roots & Boots Tour

Dating back to 1831, the Huntingdon County Fair, slated for Aug. 7-13, will feature mini tractor pulls on opening day Sunday, and modern and classic rock band Backlash on Monday, along with a demolition derby.

Musical entertainment continues Tuesday with the Roots & Boots Tour, featuring three country music stars — Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin and Collin Raye. Hawkshaw Hawkins Jr., a tribute to Hawkshaw Hawkins and Jean Shepard, will be featured Friday.

The week also includes an antique tractor pull on Wednesday, a truck and tractor pull on Thursday and a demolition derby on Saturday.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, Chris Woodward & Shindiggin’ take the midway stage to close out the fair.

Secretary Debbie Bigelow said the fair did well last year as the pandemic started to wind down.

“Attendance was up; people were happy to get out and about and have some freedom,” she said.

The fair switched to an online entry system for livestock and has seen a decrease in entries, perhaps because of that, Bigelow said, noting that not having a fair during the pandemic also hurt the numbers a bit.

Home away from home

The last remaining tenting fair in the nation, the Centre County Grange Fair is nine days of festivities set for Aug. 19-27 in Centre Hall.

The fair, which has been a community staple for 148 years, features all the popular attractions, including livestock shows, truck and tractor pulls, grandstand performances, food vendors and carnival rides. But with families camping out in about 1,000 tents and 1,500 RVs, the fair is a one-of-a-kind experience, with kids karaoke and tent and RV decorating contests.

“Last year, we were concerned because of a new (COVID) variant, but we were pleasantly surprised,” said General Manager Darlene Confer. “We had 2,500 families here, 1,000 tents were filled, and our RV sites were all full.”

Last year, Confer said daily attendance was good, though entries were down a bit.

“We didn’t know until May that we were even going to have a fair,” she said.

Looking at this year’s presales, Confer is optimistic.

“This year looks really good. We have a good lineup of entertainment and some new vendors,” she said.

Diamond Rio kicks off the grandstand entertainment at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19.

A reunion in Ebensburg

As the region celebrates Labor Day and students head back to school, the Cambria County American Legion Fair, Sept. 4-10, gets underway in Ebensburg.

Fair organizers there said, thanks to the pandemic, last year was a rousing success.

“Last year was probably the best year we have had in the last 20 years,” said Manager Darrell Jones. “Everybody was tired of sitting at home. … Once the fair came, they decided it was time to go out and have some fun.”

Organizers are assuming the fair will see another good year but admit to some worries over inflation and fuel prices.

“The fair is like a reunion, people come and see people they see once a year to spread good will and have fun,” he said.

New this year is the Wall of Death, a vintage live action thrill show featuring a silo-shaped wooden cylinder 30 feet in diameter. Inside the dome, motorcycle daredevils travel along the vertical wall performing tricks, fancy and acrobatic riding.

Grandstand events include bull riding, truck pulls, drag racing and demolition derbies. The Night of Fire & Destruction monster truck show rounds out the week’s events Saturday night.

Blair features community fairs

Today, there are 108 county and local fairs, and while Blair County doesn’t count a traditional county fair among its attractions, the county boasts five popular community fairs — the Morrisons Cove Dairy Show, Williamsburg Community Farm Show, Claysburg Farm Show, Sinking Valley Community Fair and Hollidaysburg Community Fair.

While two shows feature livestock — the Morrisons Cove Dairy Show and the Williamsburg Farm Show — they also have show categories for baked goods, fruits and vegetables, flowers, crafts and antiques.

Community members take part in the contest and turn out to support each other, too.

The Morrisons Cove show, Aug. 1-5 at Morrisons Cove Memorial Park, held an abbreviated two-day show in 2020 due to the pandemic, but was back to a full show last year, said Tom Ritchey, secretary of the show.

Entries have been down the last couple of years because of the pandemic and because of struggles in the dairy industry as a whole, but the show has a strong history.

“We started out 71 years ago as just a dairy show, and now we are considered a fair,” Ritchey said.

There will be no rides at the Williamsburg Community Farm Show again this year, organizers said, because a lot of the smaller companies went out of business. In addition, the show is competing with the Grange Fair and the Somerset County Fair, said President Jeff Walason.

The show, slated for Aug. 21-26, will feature some new vendors as organizers work to refresh the event.

“Last year seemed to go well. People just wanted to get out and socialize,” he said. “We didn’t have a carnival (rides), but we had animals, exhibits and vendors.”

Walason said the show doesn’t have “a claim to fame, it is just a community coming together and socializing and having a good time.”

Organizers of the Claysburg, Sinking Valley and Hollidaysburg shows also said entries have been down the last few years.

The Claysburg Farm Show, Sept. 6-10, is held at the former Queen grade school building.

“Last year turned out better than we expected,” said President Violet Key. “We had good attendance. Entries were down slightly in some departments, needlework and things like that were up because people could knit while at home.”

Last year, Claysburg added some different categories in the baked goods competition, Key said.

The Sinking Valley Community Fair, Sept. 13-16, is at the Sinking Valley Fairgrounds in Skelp.

While entries were down, the attendance was about normal, said President Gary Long.

“Our biggest issue is finding volunteers,” he said. “Getting people to help us has become a challenge.”

Long said the Sinking Valley event might be a small fair, but it is a community get-together for people to come and see their neighbors and friends and enjoy a night of music and food.

Last up on the schedule is the Hollidaysburg Community Fair, Sept. 19-22, in the sports building near the Hollidaysburg high school.

In an effort to refresh as well, organizers added cornhole last year to give kids something to do.

“We also have milk drinking and pie eating contests,” President Apryl Smith said. A honey bee exhibit is also popular with the kids, she added.

As fairs continue to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, organizers are looking toward the future.

“Each of Pennsylvania’s 108 county and local fairs is a slice of the 45,000 square miles of beauty, tradition and culture that make up our commonwealth,” said Gov. Tom Wolf in a statement.

“A visit to a fair is a taste of Pennsylvania’s past, present and future bounty — no matter what zip code you’re in. Meet the incredible people who make Pennsylvania Agriculture great today,” Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a statement.

“Be inspired by the youth who will make us great tomorrow. Taste surprise, adventure and inspiration at a PA fair.”

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.