Walking through the Grange Fair grounds on Tuesday was reminiscent of a ghost town.
The carnival rides were set up, the fried food stands were on site, and thousands of tents and RVs were firmly planted in their spots for the upcoming festivities, but there was nary a person in sight throughout the fairgrounds.
That will all quickly change in the coming days, as the 141st annual Centre County Grange and Encampment Fair will officially kick off on Friday, bringing over a week of fun to Centre Hall.
A self-proclaimed \”family tradition,\” the Grange Fair is the only remaining tenting fair in the nation. For just over a week each summer, the fairgrounds are transformed from vibrant, green land to a living, breathing city, where thousands of people — and hundreds of animals — take up residence.
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The tents are pitched and move-in comes Thursday. (Photo by Zach Berger/StateCollege.com)
\”The Grange Fair is a city within a town, as campers \’move into\’ the Grange Park in Centre Hall, Pa. to live for more than a week,\” says a press release from the fair. \”Come for the concerts, the rides, the amazing food, the games, and the competitions. But you’ll come on back for the experience of being in one of the most uniquely friendly \’hometowns\’ in America.\”
The fair has everything you\’d expect, from food and games to carnival rides and concerts. The 2015 fair expects 1,000 tents and 1,500 RVs on site for an event that has existed for nearly a century and a half.
While there\’s plenty to see and do at the Grange Fair, the highlight of the event might just be the nightly concerts at the Grandstand, with a packed lineup that will play at 8 p.m. each night. Here\’s a rundown of the musical offerings:
- Friday — Old Dominion
- Saturday — Remington Ryde Bluegrass Band
- Sunday — Grange Fair Idol finals
- Monday — Craig Wayne Boyd
- Tuesday — Guy Penrod
- Wednesday — Sammy Kershaw
- Thursday — Paul Revere\’s Raiders
- Friday — Francesca Battistelli
- Saturday — Cassadee Pope
The new queen coronation will take place this evening at 7 p.m. on the Southside Stage, as State College native Emily Allegar hands off her crown to the next Grange Fair Queen, who will being her one-year reign as the fair\’s ambassador. Tent and livestock move-in takes place on Thursday ahead of the fair\’s official start on Friday morning.
For information on admission prices, parking, or anything else Grange Fair-related, check out the official website.
