County fair season kicks off
Tractor pulls returning to Bedford event
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Tractor pulls, demolition derbies, bull riding, state-sponsored baking contests and an appearance by Ted Nugent are just a few of the attractions awaiting this year's fairgoers as the region's fair season gets underway this weekend.
Kicking off Sunday and continuing through Saturday, July 29, the 149th Bedford County Fair is bringing back tractor pulls, much to the delight of fairgoers.
"We haven't had tractor pulls for at least five years," said John Zembower, entertainment chairman. "People have been screaming for them. ... People like to smell the burning gas and burning rubber."
Tractor pulls begin at 5 p.m. Sunday at the grandstand.
The fair also includes two nights of demolition derbies -- Tuesday and Thursday -- Bullride Mania on Wednesday, auto racing Friday on the Fair's dirt track and pickup truck pulls on Saturday.
Other entertainment throughout the week includes racing pigs, chainsaw artists, midway stage shows and rides, and a Military Appreciation Show, complete with a Blackhawk helicopter flyover. That event is set for 5 p.m. Monday. The helicopter will land and be on display in the back parking lot. The flyover is weather dependent.
Despite all of the planned entertainment, Zembower said the weeklong county fair remains rooted in its agricultural origins.
"We average over 800 animals," Zembower said, noting the fair is in the top five in the state for livestock auction sales.
A new HVAC system has been installed in Jordan Hall where "people can come in and look at the exhibits and cool down," he said.
Poultry banned again
After taking a break at Jordan Hall on the midway side of the fairgrounds, visitors can head over the barns, where they'll find rabbits, lambs, goats, swine, dairy and beef cattle, horses and cavys, also known as guinea pigs.
But, for the second year in a row, poultry will be missing from all state fairs.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has banned poultry and eggs from fairs across the state for another year because of high numbers of bird flu cases in the state. The ban also includes fake feathers because of the possibility of the manufacturer using real feathers.
While the activity in the barns slows after the Junior Livestock Sale on Saturday, events continue throughout the day and night before the fair wraps up and planning begins for next year.
Ted Nugent at Clearfield
As the Bedford fair comes to a close, the 162nd Clearfield County Fair will get underway.
The fair, to be held July 30 through Aug. 5, is known for attracting top musical talent.
Clearfield fair manager Greg Hallstrom said this year's concerts are selling well.
Wednesday's show features Tesla with 1980s music. Friday will be country musicians Granger Smith and Cooper Alan, and Saturday's headliner will be guitarist, singer and songwriter Ted Nugent, who has sold more than 40 million albums and performed more than 6,750 concerts.
"All are pretty well known," Hallstrom said. "This is the first time we do not have any repeat artists. All are new, they have never been here before."
Other entertainment includes the return of the "Wall of Death," a vintage live action thrill show featuring motorcyclists, or the drivers of miniature automobiles and tractors, who travel along the vertical wall and perform stunts. Eight shows will be performed Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
"Lots of people associate us with our musical entertainment, but we are an agricultural fair. We want to keep it that way," Hallstrom said. "We have lots of 4-H and FFA exhibits and a large sale on Saturday."
New rides in Huntingdon
The Huntingdon County Fair, which dates back to 1831, will be held Aug. 6-12.
The fair will offer some different rides on the midway this year, said President Mark Miller. Another change will be on how the Saturday cash drawing is conducted.
"In the past, people had to be present to win. Now we are asking people to put their name and phone number on the stub so they don't have to be present to win," Miller said.
Some of the highlights include a demolition derby at 7 p.m. Monday and at 6 p.m. Saturday, truck and tractor pulls at 7 p.m. Thursday and truck pulls at 7 p.m. Friday.
Last tent fair going strong
The last remaining tenting fair in the nation, the Centre County Grange Fair, will be held Aug. 18-26 in Centre Hall. The fair is known as a home-away-from-home to families in 1,000 tents and 1,500 RVs.
The fair, which has been a community staple for 149 years, features all the popular attractions, including livestock shows, truck and tractor pulls, grandstand performances, food vendors and carnival rides.
Musical entertainment highlights include performances by the Oak Ridge Boys on Aug. 18; Drake Milligan on Aug. 21, an American actor and singer best known for portraying Elvis Presley on the CMT series "Sun Records," country music band Little Texas on Aug. 23 and country musician Chase McDaniel on Aug. 25.
'Reunion days' in Ebensburg
As the region celebrates Labor Day and students head back to school, the Cambria County American Legion Fair will get underway in Ebensburg and run Sept. 3-9.
"Sunday and Labor Day are like reunion days, you see people meeting at the food stands. People who you don't see all year you see them there," said Manager Darrell Jones.
The fair had some bad luck with rainy weather last year, but Jones is hoping to attract more than 40,000 to this year's event.
The fair is loaded with entertainment, with bull riding on Sunday, a semi stock and super semi tractor pull on Tuesday, truck pull on Wednesday, small car demolition derby on Thursday and a large car demolition derby and monster truck show on Saturday.
Country pop singer Dylan Scott will perform at 7 p.m. on Labor Day.
Blair boasts community fairs
There are 108 county and local fairs in Pennsylvania, and while Blair County doesn't count a traditional county fair among its attractions, it boasts several community fairs.
The 72nd Morrisons Cove Dairy Show will be held July 31 through Aug. 4 at Morrisons Cove Memorial Park in Martinsburg.
Overall entries are up slightly this year, with 165 animals entered, the same as last year, said Tom Ritchey, secretary of the show.
"We are best known for our dairy cattle, which represent Morrisons Cove and adjoining counties. We have some people who have exhibited here for 30 to 40 years in the open shows," Ritchey said.
This year, the show will be offering four state-sponsored baking contests. These include a Blue Ribbon Apple Pie contest, an angel food cake contest, a homemade chocolate cake contest, and a PA-Preferred cookies/brownies/bars contest for juniors. Winners of these competitions will be eligible to compete in the 2024 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Ritchey said.
Rides return to Williamsburg
The Williamsburg Community Farm show will be held Aug. 20-26.
"Currently we are Blair County's largest fair. We hope with the continued growth we see more support from throughout the county and not only Williamsburg and the closely surrounding area," President Jeff Walason said.
This year's show has some new additions.
"We will have amusement rides for the first time since COVID. This is a huge expense to the organization, and we hope that the local community and Blair County comes out to support this. Should we have the support, we would look to have an additional number of rides next year," Walason said.
Blair County is also home to the Claysburg Farm Show, set for Sept. 5-9 at the old Queen school, and Hollidaysburg Community Fair, slated for Sept. 18-21, in the Hollidaysburg Area School District's high school sports building.
Sinking Valley fair canceled
One longtime community fair will not be held this year as the Sinking Valley Community Fair, which would have marked its 81st year, has been postponed until next year.
"The problem is volunteers. I can't get anyone to help," said President Gary Long.
There are people available to work during the week of the fair, he said, but the issue is the work that needs to be done leading up to that week.
"There's so much work to do prior, more than three or four people can do," he said.
"It is not a financial issue," he added. "It is a labor thing. We can't get enough volunteers."
Long said he feels terrible that the show won't be held, "but it is more than I can do."
Long said his parents, Frank and Sarah, "dedicated their lives to the fair," so it is hard to see the show being postponed.
The farming community is still active, he said, but the number of farmers has dwindled. In addition, the younger generation isn't into arts and crafts projects.
"Exhibits have been dropping off slowly over the past 10 years," he said.
Long said the fair committee will meet at 7 p.m. the second Monday of the month at the fairgrounds to try and get it up and running again next year.
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.