The Bloomsburg Fair has been held in Bloomsburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, since 1855 and continues to this day.

History

It was originally held as an agricultural exhibition located on the lower end of Second Street, which is now Main Street. Since then it has grown to be the largest

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

in the Commonwealth of

. The Bloomsburg Fair was started by Caleb Barton in 1854. The 156th Bloomsburg Fair was held from September 25 to October 2, 2010. In 2006, fair attendance for the week reached 413,203 people. The 157th Fair was scheduled to be held from September 24, 2011, to October 1, 2011, was canceled due to the 2011 Tropical Storm Lee flood. However, the fair returned in style with the 158th edition in 2012 after a one-year hiatus. On July 28, 2020, it was announced that the fair has been cancelled for 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Besides 2011 and 2020, there were other cancellations in 1917–18 due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 1942–44 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The 166th Bloomsburg Fair had an attendance of 369,791 people. The 167th Bloomsburg Fair is planned to run from PREVIEW DAY Friday, 23 September 2021 until Saturday, 1 October 2022.

Organization

The Bloomsburg Fair is run and maintained by a board of 13 directors, each in charge of a different aspect of the Fair. They are voted in by the thousands of members that hold a share in the Bloomsburg Fair during a yearly meeting. Each director has a different term length and can maintain their station as long as the shareholders allow. Any member can run for position on the board of directors as long as they have held that share for more than two years. While each director has a specific set of duties they all vote for major changes and additions that happen at the Fair Grounds.

Unique aspects

The Bloomsburg Fair is one of the last quarter-mile dirt tracks to remain open during the winter season for

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

. While the stage and seating is limited at the Bloomsburg Fair they still have high end entertainment. Fair week entertainment has been

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

dominated but they allot two of the nights for a newer rock band and a

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

band still in the past the fair has hosted acts such as

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 originally as "Groundswell" and played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1995 and regrouping in 1997. ...

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall (vo ...

Seether Seether are a South African rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion wit ...

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

, Foreigner, and comedians such as

Jeff Dunham Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonigh ...

and

Bill Engvall William Ray Engvall Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Engvall has released a number of stand-up comedy albums through Warner Records and the defunct BNA Records. His most commercially successf ...

Attractions

The fair has a variety of games, foods, shows, and contests. It has a midway with an assortment of

carnival rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

Contests

Photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

Farm animals Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals wh ...

Baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

Entertainment

Every year, the Bloomsburg Fair's Grandstand hosts a variety of world-renowned musical artists, comedians, and general entertainment. The

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

s and

demolition derby Demolition derby is a non-racing motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehic ...

are also a popular form of entertainment at the Bloomsburg Fair. The Bloomsburg Fair also has over 1,500 food stands. In 2006, international superstar

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

performed her first major concert at the fair.

Vendor issues

In 2016, early in the fair week, a merchant selling the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

flag was expelled from the Fair for being a registered sex offender.Krize, Nikki. "Vendor Selling Nazi Flag Kicked Out of Bloomsburg Fair." Channel 16 News. 26 September 2016. Link: http://wnep.com/2016/09/26/vendor-selling-nazi-flag-kicked-out-of-bloomsburg-fair.

References

External links

Official site of the Bloomsburg Fair
{{coord, 40.99648, -76.46358, type:landmark, display=title Agricultural shows in the United States Festivals in Pennsylvania Recurring events established in 1855 1855 establishments in Pennsylvania