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Pennsylvania Farm Show is back for 100th year


Your favorite milkshakes, butter sculpture and furry farm animals return to Harrisburg Jan. 9 as the Pennsylvania Farm Show celebrates its 100th anniversary.

The eight-day show – themed “Our Commonwealth’s Blue Ribbon Experience” – will feature 6,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits and 300 commercial exhibitors through Jan. 16, according to a news release.

This year’s theme is a nod to experiences visitors have enjoyed since the first Farm Show in 1917.

Festivities for the 100th year will begin with the unveiling of the butter sculpture at 11 a.m. Jan. 7 and the unveiling of the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association new Centennial Milkshake flavor at noon Jan. 8. The food court will also open at noon Jan. 8, and the opening ceremonies will follow at 10 a.m. Jan. 9.

Some of the most popular attractions this year include the Pennsylvania High School Rodeo, horse-pulling competitions, rabbit hopping competition, the Great Grape Stomp, butter sculpture and the Sheep-to-Shawl competition, according to the release.

New attractions to look forward to include a 100th-anniversary historical display, a mushroom-growing exhibit, a farm-to-shelf display, an ice cream scoop-off, global food security roundtable discussion, barbecue sauce contest, whoopie pie contest and, of course, the food. This year's additions to the food court include chocolate-covered bacon, blended mushroom burger, barbecue beef bowl, carrot cake funnel cake and walking goat meat tacos.

Admission to the Farm Show is free, however there is an extra charge for the butterfly house, tractor ride, merry-go-round and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeos Jan. 14-16.

Parking is $15 and is available on-site at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, 2300 N. Cameron St., or at Farm Show-operated lots at Harrisburg Area Community College and east of the complex at the intersection of Elmerton Avenue and Sycamore Street.

For more information, visit www.farmshow.state.pa.us.