a farm show..
in January?
Yes.
Last Sunday, we attended the 2010 Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest indoor agricultural event in the Country (according to their website, and whoami to argue?).
The PA Farm Show is held each January in Harrisburg, PA at their very large Farm Show Complex and Expo Center. While it’s true admission is free, if you park in one of the designated places, there is a small fee, this year it was $10.
How best to describe it?
I think calling it an indoor State Fair would be the best. There are show animals and 4H kids. Cattle, goats, pigs, and an alpaca or two. Sheep are mostly absent, my city-degraded guess is because it’s lambing season. There are agricultural exhibits, the focus seems to be on sustainability — there was at least one wind turbine. There is a food exhibit and some crafts. A sheep-to-shawl contest exists as well, but it’s mid-week so I’m not going to say more.
There is also a large contingency of local businesses selling various things, some of it very commercial and some of it well, I can apparently sniff out fibre from at least 200 metres. I picked up 2 ounces of suri alpaca that’s hand painted into pretty colours and 2 ounces of icelandic wool from another vendor. Trust me when I say fibre is NOT the focus of this Show, it’s not MDSW or Rhinebeck. But that’s ok. I still enjoy it.
The largest downside? Crowds. We go on Sunday, the second day of public entrance and it becomes quite crowded (and depending if you step in anything, a bit smelly too). I hope one year to be able to visit mid-week and see the show without the weekend intensity.
Yes, there is a butter sculpture. Below are some of our photos from last year’s Show. We haven’t yet had a chance to process our photos from this year.
Another link of potential interest may be this page of PA Farm Show Facts and Figures.
