Family affair: Generations turn out for Williamsburg Community Farm Show
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WILLIAMSBURG – Since 1967, the Williamsburg Community Farm Show has constantly evolved and grown, sprouting from the small, vegetable-focused event in its beginnings to the large Blair County staple featuring rides, tasty food and animal shows.
The fair runs until Aug. 23 and will welcome thousands from across the region. Attendees can hop on Midway rides, listen to live music and see livestock throughout the week, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., free of charge.
Former farm show board member Dave Greaser said the fair used to be held at a basketball court when it originally started in 1967.
“It’s come a long way,” Greaser said.
Improving with age
Starting with just vegetables, the fair has evolved into a place for rides, tractors, animals and food, Greaser said.
“It’s definitely growing without a question,” he said.
Farm show secretary Angelique Walason said it is the event’s 58th year, but she and her husband took over the operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the fair is hosting 180 animals, which is a huge increase compared to years past.
“The farm show has been growing” every year, she said.
For instance, they recently purchased a row of new goat and sheep stalls from an Ag and Youth grant from the state Department of Agriculture.
They are raising money throughout the week to replace their remaining old stalls.
“Each pen costs $300, so we’re trying to get the rest of it,” Walason said.
Another fair expansion is appealing to the younger generations, said farm show board member Joe Denison.
Events like their tractor pull, farm show queen and a newly added teen dance have joined the fair schedule to “give kids something to do,” he said.
“It’s very important to give the community something to look forward to every year,” Denison said.
Fair planning never stops for Walason – she said they will start preparing for next year’s fair the following week.
She said she continues to organize this event because “people need to know where their food comes from.”
Origin story
Farm shows are not only competitive, but a place for children to learn about where their food comes from, said rabbit superintendent Charann Webb.
“The city kids don’t realize that the meat they are putting into their mouth that they’re eating started as a cow or a pig or a chicken at a farm,” she said.
Webb remembered when she was a kid “when my parents were those farmers, educating and showing me what to do and teaching me how to raise something.”
Like Webb, some children had a chance to show animals at the farm show, including 8-year-old Bayleigh Houck.
It was her third year participating in the show. Monday night, she was practicing with her pigs in preparation for the livestock show today.
She said she likes feeding her pigs and her rabbits by herself.
Bayleigh’s mother, Jordan Houck, also showed animals when she was younger.
Encouraging children to show animals “teaches them a lot of responsibility,” Jordan Houck said, prepping them for real-life situations.
“It shows these kids’ hard work in what they’ve been working for either all summer or all year,” she said.
Farm show queen Billie Harnish, 19, was also showing a pig while wearing the crown this week.
Harnish believes the Williamsburg farm show is important in “advocating for agriculture.” She has been showing animals at the farm show since she was 7 years old.
For adults, however, teaching children about agriculture becomes an important aspect of fair life, according to Webb.
“It’s nice to see a blue ribbon,” Webb said. “But the best part is the feeling of a little kid smiling because you let them touch a rabbit or a cow.”
Living local
Williamsburg native Ashley Cruthers, 37, has been attending the fair since she was a child.
“It’s the one time in the year for one week, the whole community can come together and be at the same place,” she said.
Monday night, Ashley sat with her two boys, Ronan, 8, and Lochlan, 7, while they dipped french fries into a cheese cup.
Ashley brought her children to the farm show “ever since they were born,” recalling that the boys used to explore the fair in strollers.
The brothers said they were excited to see the animals. Ronan was looking forward to seeing the cows, while Lochlan wanted to see the rabbits.
As long as Ashley can remember, locals have been running the Williamsburg show.
“I feel like our farm show really focuses on supporting local businesses,” she said.
Local businesses such as Salt & Light Coffee LLC were present Monday night, offering fairgoers different types of food and beverages.
Owner Janelle Peachey sold caffeinated beverages ranging from drip coffee to matcha lattes as well as sweet treats at her trailer.
“People don’t think of coffee when they think of the fair,” she said, adding that she is bringing a new dynamic to the farm show.
“Getting food” is one of the reasons why Ainsley Fay, 12, and her school friends, Kaidence Brandon, Haiden Fay and Braylyn Speacht, chose to hang out at the fair.
Since school is back in session on Thursday, they agreed this event is their last chance for summer fun.
Even 1-year-old Duke Biddle was enjoying the late-summer night with his uncle, Greaser, while they watched the animals.
Greaser plans on coming back to the farm show every year, while Biddle will “come for the food.”
Webb also hoped to bring her “great-great-grandkids” to the Williamsburg show.
“I’m hoping that they continue to carry on the tradition like I have,” she said.
Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.