County’s Agrarian Culture On Display As Grange Fair Opens

If you’re a newcomer to the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair, prepare yourself: Advice and suggestions will come from all directions.

Everyone has a preferred food vendor, a favored game, a must-see exhibit or event that you absolutely cannot miss. Every fair-going die-hard has a different set of favorite stops on the sprawling Grange Park grounds in Centre Hall, several miles northeast of State College on state Route 45.

But there’s one piece of advice that’s nearly universal at the 136-year-old Grange Fair:

Leave those open-toed shoes at home. Better to stick with sneakers.

That’s because the fair is authentic, and not every walkway is paved. Get a little drought, a little rain, maybe a mixture of both — and your exposed toes can become a dusty or muddy mess.

The unvarnished, pretense-free authenticity is a big part of the charm at the Grange Fair, which opens to the public about 9 a.m. today and runs through Sept. 2. It’s billed as the last real tenting fair in the nation, with some 950 military-style tents occupied for the week by fair-going families.

People come and stay the week in RVs and campers, too — some 1,300 of them.

Thousands more visitors come just for a day, an afternoon, an evening. One-day admission is $6, though an all-week pass is available for $15. Parking is an extra $3 a day or $10 for the week.

Inside the gates, you will find Centre County’s rich agrarian roots and culture on full display. Attractions range from tractor pulls, commercial exhibits and livestock shows to a baked-goods auction, live concerts and produce-growing contests. More contemporary touches include a ‘Grange Fair Idol’ event, a take-off on ‘American Idol,’ and wireless Internet access, provided by getwireless.net.

A draft horse show is the first attraction for Thursday on the official Grange Fair calendar. And there’s good news for the equine and spectators alike: The weather will be mostly sunny with a comfortable high in the mid-70s, according to AccuWeather.com.

The fair also is a key political event for both Democrats and Republicans, as both parties maintain booths and host visits from candidates for elected office and current office-holders.

But for many visitors, the main event is the food. Fair cuisine here runs a substantial gamut: Fruit dumplings, barbecued pork, hot sausage, milkshakes, doughnuts, monkey bread, cheesesteaks, vegetable platters, funnel cakes and central-Pennsylvania-style pot pies all are among the staples. And that list barely scratches the surface.

Many more details, including event schedules and more fair history, are available via the official Grange Fair website. It’s linked at the StateCollege.com Grange Fair page, available right here.