Big Butler Fair a great place to make memories
The smell of funnel cakes, music emanating from spinning rides, the tired teens tending their animals in the barns … all the elements of the Big Butler Fair have been helping families create priceless memories for 168 years.
Where else can county residents and visitors enjoy an event their great-great-grandparents likely attended on a horse and wagon?
People passing through the gate can’t help but smile when entering the fairgrounds in Franklin Township, as they absorb the festive vibe on the midway.
Many attend to watch a demolition derby, musical act or other show in the grandstands, which overlook a racetrack normally used for trotter horse races.
Families from Pittsburgh drive up Interstate 79 to Route 422 to come to the fair so their children can pet a cow, horse or sheep, or view the hundreds of rabbits, goats or chickens housed in the fairgrounds barns.
The young people who care for those animals are learning invaluable lessons as they feed, water, brush, ride or show them before official judges.
Others attend the Big Butler Fair to indulge in food they only eat once per year. The choices are many in the row of food vendors, making it difficult to decide whether to enjoy a hot sausage sandwich or some deep fried Oreos … or both.
Children can enjoy rides made just for them, and parents have been seen recording their toddlers squealing with delight on an amusement ride since the advent of cameras.
Teens try to pop balloons or shoot baskets in an attempt to impress their dates with a stuffed animal, and many smiling girls can be seen proudly toting a colorful plush animal around in the night’s twinkling lights.
The reasons to attend the Big Butler Fair are endless, and everyone, from an infant to a senior, can find something interesting to do, see or eat at the event.
The Butler Eagle hopes everyone will load up the car and head for the fair this week, which will culminate with a fireworks display.
It’s the best way to get a bang out of summer.
— PG
