1. The Food
Who can resist an entire fairground of amazing food? If it is edible, they will fry it (remember the fried butter). The hands down best though is the apple/peach dumplings with cinnamon ice cream. I go every year specifically to get one, possibly two. The corn dogs, kettle korn, funnel cakes are the norm but walking around this year I found a pork chop on a stick…. yep you read that correctly. This year I also got my favorite, mozzerella squares!! Fresh squares of mozzerella hand breaded and made to order. They. Are. To. Die. For!!
2. The Dog Exhibit
Let’s just face the facts, dogs are so much better than people. I literally sit in class when I’m bored, or when I’m sad and just watch dog videos, and it makes me feel 10x better. So, the fact that there is an entire building at the fair that is filled with dogs makes my day. Even though most of the fair is outside you can’t bring your own furry friend which makes me sad but it’s nice to know I can still see puppies while I’m here.
3. The People
There are so many different types of people that you see at the fair. There are anything from the hard core country folk who walk around with their boots and cowboy hats; to the college students walking around taking pictures with their food and fish that they won. I’ve even met people while I was 4+ hours away tell me they have driven all the way to Bloomsburg for this fair, it’s crazy!! Let’s just say the fair is a great place to people watch.
4. The Pride
Whether you love the fair or hate it, whenever you say Bloomsburg people immediately think of the fair or the University. The whole area goes crazy for it. The surrounding schools even close for the entire week, I know what you’re thinking… schools close for a fair?! Yes, it’s crazy and probably a little outrageous but for the folk that live around here they wait all year long for this event and when it is finally here they go nuts for it!!
5. The Tradition
The Bloomsburg Fair has been around for 161 years. As long as I have been going to the fair, not much has changed. The same stands and the same setup. I even asked my parents and my grandparents and they said the same thing. Families keep coming back every year, knowing that their favorite stand or favorite rides will be right where they were the year before. The fair will continue its tradition for a very long time.