The 145th annual Kutztown Fair offered family fun, food, games, rides, agriculture display, competition and education, held at the Kutztown Fairgrounds from Aug. 15 to 20.
“I think this is a really great fair, one of the best small fairs in the state in my mind,” said Kutztown Fair Committee member Roger Bowman, 4-H Sheep Club leader and Sheep and Goat superintendent as well as in charge of wool. “I think it’s great that we have a lot of participation from the agriculture community and also from the town. It’s a combined effort. If you just look around there’s a lot of good things to see here.”
Admission included all rides, shows, special contests, musical entertainment and racing in the Grand Stand.
“Education is most important,” said Bowman, a Fleetwood teacher for 25 years. “We have less than 2 percent of the population in the United States that are farmers. People are getting further and further away from where their food comes from. They don’t know. They think it comes out of a package or bottle from the store. The fair educates the public.”
The fair displays animals with dairy cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, beef and dairy beef filling the six barns.
“Somebody can tell you but here you can actually meet the people that produce your food and fiber, wool,” said Bowman.
4-H and Grange exhibits also educate the public.
Fay siblings Nicolas, 15; Nehemiah, 12; and Naomi, 13, set up the children’s education exhibit called Fun on the Farm at the Kutztown Fair. They are members of the Berks County 4-H Sheep and Lamb Club. Children could collect eggs, milk a cow and pick apples.
“I like the experience of showing the animals,” said Naomi about the fair.
Nehemiah likes getting the animals ready before the fair. Nicolas also likes showing animals.
“We learn responsibility, how to take care our animals,” said Nehemiah.
Youth involved in the fair for two years are eligible to apply for a scholarship. The Fair Committee awards scholarships annually and has awarded close to 50 scholarships over the past nine years.
More than 4,000 exhibits and entries compete for ribbons at the Kutztown Fair.
“Vying for the coveted blue ribbon and best of show recognition, there are thousands of entries in the home goods, arts and crafts, and produce and youth categories. Additionally, there are over 600 animal entries that will stroll across the tanbark trying to win ribbons and prize money,” said Lolly Lesher of the Kutztown Fair Committee in the event release.
Among the ribbon winners was Debby Kulp, Kutztown, who won first place for her shoofly pie for the sixth year in a row.
“I’m pretty excited. It’s my grandmother’s recipe. I use to make it when I worked for the old Hess store in Allentown. They sold like hot cakes then, too,” said Kulp. “Let’s see how long I can keep this streak going.”
Kulp believes what makes her shoofly pie good is a really thick wet bottom. She said shoofly pies are big in this area because of the German and PA Dutch culture in the area.
Kulp was cooking at the Kutztown Area School Music Association food stand, with music teacher Kathy Mohler frying blooming onions. With them in the stand were also Heather Mengel and Nancy and Allison Brooks. KASMA supports the Kutztown School District music program.
“I like the fair because it’s hometown,” said Nancy Brooks, Kutztown Community Parntership Main Street Manager. “It’s fun. You see everybody you know.”
“I like the rides,” said her daughter Allison.
In addition to the rides and games, there was entertainment. This year The Fearless Flores Family performed a daredevil act in the Dome of Death at the Kutztown Fair. Father and son, 13, rode motorcycles around each other inside the dome. The Flores Family is known for its 2011 America’s Got Talent audition in 2011.
