What began as a neighbor’s grange picnic in 1874, has grown into the largest tent encampment in the country.
The 142nd annual Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair is underway. This fair is a city within a town, as campers live in Centre Hall for more than a week.
This “Family Tradition” has grown to include 1,000 tents, 1,500 RV’s, hundreds of concessions, over 7,000 exhibits and lots of entertainment including some new things this year.
As Grange Fair General Manager Darlene Wolfe- Confer explains, “We have the Grange Fair Amazing Race which is a scavenger hunt. We also have our own Grange Fair Project Runway. We have a series of farm to table events with celebrity chefs.”
Emma Spackman of Port Matilda was crowned Grange Fair Queen Wednesday night.
The fair is expected to draw over 200,000 over the course of the next 8 days.
WTAJ News will be live from the Grange Fair beginning Friday morning.