The Allentown fairgrounds held their 173rd annual fair this labor day weekend. The fair was packed with crowds of all ages. Along with hundreds of people, there was dozens of food vendors varying from simple lemonade to coal fired pizza. The fair had various rides, along with all of the classic fair games. The most exciting part of the fair for not just me, but many others, was meeting all the animals in their attractions. 

During my time at the fair I went to a few animal exhibits including the Butterfly Kingdom Exhibit, The Steinmetz Family

Farm Goat Snuggling, and the Robertson’s Pig Paddling Porkers.The first exhibit, The Butterfly Kingdom, was filled with gorgeous painted lady butterflies. Along with these vibrant butterflies, there were many species of flowers that came in all colors. A great part of this exhibit was the free admission, and there was an optional fee for a feeding stick. Beside that, it was a great opportunity for kids and adults to be face to face with so many butterflies. 

The next Attraction, and my personal favorite, was the The Steinmetz Family Farm Goat Snuggling. This activity had a 5 dollar entry fee to spend as much time as you want in their pen surrounded by many pygmy/dwarf goats.The pen consisted of many seats and hay for people to sit on, and it was overall very spacious. All of the goats were extremely well behaved and friendly. The family held a selfie contest as well, and the overall prize was a 100 dollars gift card to either rent a goat or to buy merchandise. When you exited the goat pen, there was a small shop with merchandise, such as shirts and crochet goats.

The last event I experienced at the allentown fair was Robertson’s Paddling Porkers. These Porkers were mini pigs trained to race each other. All the pigs had unique well crafted names, such as Tsunami Salami, Lindsey Slow Ham, Sponge Hog Pork Pants, Shaken Bacon, and many others that had a little twist on famous figures. The races were engaging for all the viewers. Every race, the owner would choose a person from the crowd to “sponsor” a pig during the race they were in. The person sponsoring the winning pig could win an oreo cookie and a ribbon. To the racing aspect, there was two races around their mini track, and two more where the pigs would swim across a two foot pool called “the hogwash”. 

Overall, the Allentown Fair was such a great experience for all ages.