One day in 1918, Penn State professor Ed Hibshman, county ag agent Floyd "Dutch" Bucher, Ephrata Review publisher Arthur Yeager and businessman I. Leonard Sprecher sat around a pot-bellied stove in a building along Main Street in Ephrata discussing ways to honor local soldiers returning home from Europe after World War I.
A goldfish waits to be won by a lucky contestant at last year's Ephrata Fair.
Seeing fresh produce on display in the window of Sprecher's hardware store across the street, Hibshman mentioned the state was making money available to award as prizes for growers of fine crops. Soon, merchants up and down Main Street were enticed to vie for the prizes by displaying fresh vegetables, fruits, pies and canned goods in their windows.
The Ephrata Fair was born.
Ninety years old now, and much larger than its founders could ever have imagined, the granddaddy of Lancaster County's fairs takes to the streets today.
Ephrata closed Main Street from Lincoln Avenue to Park Avenue and State Street between West Franklin and Locust streets at 7:30 p.m. Monday, and venders started hauling trailers and setting up food stands, games and rides along the midway.
The fair opens at 11 a.m. today with food sellers trying to whet the appetites of the many local workers who drift up and down the midway during their lunch breaks.
In Grater Park, market-goat judging starts at noon, dairy beef judging at 2:30 p.m. and swine judging at 4 p.m.
Fair exhibits along the midway open at 4 p.m. Rides open at 6:30 p.m. and feature an all-you-can-ride deal for $20 until 10 p.m. Plus, a $5-off coupon for the $20 deal is available at the fair office, 19 S. State St.
Antique-tractor games start at 6 p.m. in the park, and at 7 p.m. the squeals of greased pigs and squawking of flustered roosters — and the kids who chase them — will be heard.
Wednesday is Senior Citizens Day, featuring free coffee, tea and cookies for seniors at the fair office from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Entertainment will be provided at the bingo tent at the railroad station, and seniors can buy reduced-price food from participating vendors. To take advantage of the deals, seniors must get a badge at the fair office.
Lamb and sheep judging starts at 1 p.m. in the park; the midway opens at 10 a.m. and the rides at 4 p.m.
When the sun goes down Wednesday, the 75th annual Ephrata Parade will fill the streets with music by performers including the Aqua String Band, one of many Philadelphia-based Mummers Day Parade bands, at 7 p.m.
For hot-dog fans, the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile also is slated to appear.
This year's parade is dedicated to longtime mayor of Ephrata the late Lloyd S. Gerhart and his wife, Miriam Gerhart, who devoted more than 50 years to the fair.
Thursday, as it has been for more than 50 years, will be Kiddies Day at the fair. Schools dismiss early, and the rides open at noon and will be discounted until 6 p.m. SpongeBob SquarePants will be on hand to greet the kids.
In Grater Park, dairy cattle judging gets under way at 10 a.m., followed by pygmy goat judging at 2 p.m., the livestock auction at 6 p.m., a pedal tractor pull at 6:30 p.m. and the tug of war at 8 p.m.
Friday will see rabbit judging in Grater Park at 5 p.m., as well as the antique-tractor pull at 6:30 p.m. and "family fun contests" and calf dressing at 6:45 p.m.
The midway opens at 10 a.m., and rides open at 4 p.m.
The 90th annual Ephrata Fair wraps up Saturday with the annual baby parade at 1 p.m.
A free shuttle service will run between the midway and Grater Park. Buses will run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday. People can catch the shuttle at the corner of West Franklin and South State streets. On Wednesday, parade day, the shuttle will make an extra stop at Cornerstone Mennonite Church at Oak Street and Sunset Avenue.
E-mail: lalexander@lnpnews.com
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