In Centre County, the 150th anniversary of the Grange Fair is in its second week with a big crowd on hand.
What originally began as a picnic for the farming community has grown into a “multi-million-dollar event.”
On Monday, at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair in Centre Hall, the annual kids’ day events were held, with the always popular ice cream social.
It is just one of the many events for those in the nearly one thousand tents, and 1,500 RVs, along with daily fair visitors.
The fair began 150 years ago as a picnic to showcase agriculture, with several thousand attending on an eight-to-ten-acre property. Now it’s a far larger site.
“Today, Grange Park has grown to 264 acres. We are the largest fairground in Pennsylvania.”
Grange Park is far more than the fair, as it is used nearly year-round for a wide variety of events. A busy schedule that brings in lots of revenue.
“The total economic impact for Grange Park is between 16 and 20 million dollars, with our equine area and things like that.”
The encampment and fair is an unique experience, with generations of families here, and the nation’s last remaining tenting fair.
“What you’ve done for Centre County is you’ve created a format and showcase for not only family reunions, but community reunions.”
The annual Grange Fair parade is scheduled for Thursday with the fair wrapping on Saturday, the 24th.
