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Cochrantonfair.org

2025 Premium and MORE!

6/19/2025

The Cochranton Community Fair Association volunteers are getting geared up and excited for our annual fair!
Dates: August 4-9, 2025.
Our Premium Book is now available online and will soon be available in print too! (We'll update on our social media once the printed books are available so you can look for them!)
We have added some new classes and revamped our Department listings (e.g. Youth Home Show and Adult Home Show use similar sections with different Department numbers)!
Check out the 250 PA Apron Contest (winner eligible for the 2026 PA Farm Show!)!
If you aren't a totally from-scratch baker and like to use a mix, this is your year: The Almost Homemade Cake Contest is here! (Be sure to read the rules!)
Our 2025 theme is derived from the PSACF: Cultivating the Future Generations!
We're taking it further and adding our own byline: Cultivating Winners in Cochranton!
Would you like to get more involved with our tiny but mighty winning community fair?
Drop us an email at [email protected]!

THANK YOU

4/11/2025

Some say it takes a village to raise a child.
It takes a Community to support, sustain, and serve the community and its organizations.
THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!

2025

1/8/2025

Happy New Year!
We, the folks on the Cochranton Community Fair Association Board, the volunteers, the members, the officers, and everyone who is interested and involved in some way, are looking forward to an exciting 2025 fair season!
Our first meeting of 2025 is scheduled for this evening (January 8th) and we're excited!
No matter the weather and winter storms, we're excited!
Several of our members will be heading to Hershey, PA two (2) weeks from today for the PSCACF convention! We love hearing what they learn, ideas they glean, and hearing about their travel to and from this exciting event! Sometimes they get to meet entertainers who end up performing at our fair! (and yes, we know, they're in Hershey......they get quick access to chocolate!)
What ideas do you have for 2025? Is there a special craft or food item you'd like to see added to our premium book and fair contests?
Would you like to have more say in what we do during the fair? C'mon over to our meetings and get involved! 1st Wednesday of the month at 6:00pm. In the winter, we meet in the Christian Education wing of the Presbyterian Church. In really nice summer weather, we meet at the fairgounds. (We know tonight is not the first Wednesday, but it is the first Wednesday that is not a national holiday.)
Join us! Get involved! Help out! Have a say! Get ideas! Share ideas!
Our theme for 2025 is: PA Fairs, Cultivating the Future Generations!

November 2024

11/16/2024

The fun at the fair never stops!
The Fair Parade Committee hosted its annual Halloween Display, Trick-or-Treat, and Trunk-or-Treat (with Fair Officers) on Thursday, October 31st! Hot cocoa, treats, all sorts of princesses, goblins, and more traversed the well-designed display with 72 degree autumn weather!
November is now here and there is more fun on the horizon!
November 22, 23, and 24 will see the Parade Committee hosting its annual fundraiser: Christmas Tree Lane at the Cochranton Volunteer Fire Department Fire Hall, including a visit from Santa on Saturday!
November 22 and 23 will see the Junior Fair board hosting its annual Gingerbread House contest and display at the Cochranton Family Church (across from the fire hall).
Visit www.cochrantonevents.com for complete details on Christmas Tree Lane and https://www.cochrantonfair.org/junior-fair-board-24.html for details on the Gingerbread House competition and display.
There are several craft shows in the area and various businesses are hosting open houses during this time of ushering in Christmas in Cochranton.

"the rain came down and out came the sun"

8/13/2024

and dried up all the rain.....

Haven't we all heard that nursery rhyme?
Truer words were never spoken.

Monday, August 5th, on our 'soft opening' it rained, a lot. But, the Cochranton Ministerium was able to hold a rainy Vesper service and present an achievement recognition award to Barb McCartney amidst sprinkles, showers, and wet bleachers. Jessica Snyder followed Vespers, opening the evening entertainment with gospel music, even leading to a rainbow in the sky as she sang!   Willie Barry joined Jessica on stage for the 2nd half of the evening and The Honky Tonk Twins sang their hearts out for a crowd that held on through the rain, under porch roofs and in the wet bleachers! 3 Cheers for all who stuck with us!

Tuesday, August 6th....it rained, it poured, and no one had time to snore. Some folks in the area recorded 5 or more inches of rain in their rain gauges. There was a deluge, more than once during the day. Cattle were sent home, sheep departed for home, and the bunnies evacuated from being under water. Thank goodness the cows have long legs, but we have photos of folks with water well above their knees in the cattle barn, people kayaking through the barn, and more. Tuesday it did not flood, it deluged from the sky. The creek did not come up, it was not ground water. It all came from the skies and flushed through the borough and the fairgrounds. We are thankful for volunteers who ran to help in the barns that were hit the hardest, who ran with buckets to save as many exhibits as possible in the home show building (the one that we know needs replaced) when the roof sprung leaks like a sieve. We are thankful for all who stuck it out and those who came to the fair anyway. We are thankful for those who took detours when roads were closed (one 2+mile stretch had multiple mud and rock-slides) to come to the fair. We are thankful for the volunteer first-responders of all branches who maintained safe traffic patterns and secured equipment to open up the roadways (only to do it again later in the day during repeated storms). We felt badly that the Clark Duncan Family Corn-a-ment had to be cancelled due to the continued rains, but safety first (and corn hole is harder to be played with floating boards!). We are thankful there was no loss of life at the fairgrounds and, to date, no reports of animals with related illnesses. Thankful to PA Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Fred Strathmeyer for presenting the Friend of the Fair Award to the family of Johanna Schneider. We are grateful for Julia Neville and her band who hung in with us, set up, ran sound check, and witnessed crazy torrential rains with us. Julia and her crew performed phenomenally and hats off to the sound guy who kept gear from being ruined! The horses were on higher ground and the goats and their humans hung in there, able to stay with us for the entire week. We are thankful fair-goers got to see some critters and pet sweet faces. We missed the cows, sheep, and bunnies, but we are happiest that they are all OK and not lost due to the rushing waters. (and wait til you see the photo of kayakers in the cow barn.... )

Wednesday, August 7th. Parade Day. Mixed clouds and sunshine breezes, and humidity from the residual water from Tuesday's rains, but it was a perfect day for a parade. A walk through the fairgrounds showed the damage done by the massive water that fell on Tuesday. Huge shout-out to the trash crew who had to deal with water that weighed down all the trash barrels and soggy trash. We are thankful for wise decisions to evacuate the cattle, sheep, and bunny tents. A mess to clean up, but life and safety outweigh the cleanup process. Some of us are still not sure how the Horse Department held the Pleasure Show with all the residual water/mud in the arena from Tuesday, but they did! -- And then the horses and their riders made it to the parade, looking beautiful (and not soggy)! Honored to have the family of Johanna Schneider represent her as Grand Marshal; Johanna passed away July 14th and had accepted the G.M. title in the spring. The parade saw a wonderful abundance of floats for the float contest this year! Chairs lined the streets in the early morning hours as people marked their favorite spots from which to watch the parade that evening, always a refreshing sight to see! Michael Christopher with his band performed on the main stage Wednesday evening to the delight of fair-goers who were ready to cast the prior rainy days aside and rock out! From color guards to baton twirlers in the parade, from bands to pageant royalty, the parade folks got to enjoy everything the fair has to offer! Our thanks to all who join us from all over northwest Pennsylvania! Vendors, food and games alike had pulled things back together from Tuesday and fair food abounded! Inflatable rides and pony rides were on tap for the littles and the fair was back on track!

Thursday, August 8th.   Our Horse Department wisely decided to move the Friday Game Show to this afternoon (seeing rain from an Atlantic hurricane predicted for our neck of the woods Friday morning). We improvised, we were winging it, realizing that our planned program of events was no longer planned at all, but that we were overcoming every obstacle thrown our way. (Oh goodness, we're NOT comparing ourselves the USMC, overcoming, adapting, improvising, but we do like those words!) The November Blue Band joined us on stage, all the way from Nashville and rocked the night away! The band members hail from all over western PA and love to come home and do a PA summer tour. In fact, they had hoped to play for us in 2023, but our available dates did not coincide last year, so we planned for 2024! We are glad this year worked out! Tom Atkins, from WJET-TV in Erie joined us to do live weather broadcasts from the fairgrounds; Tom and his cameraman are always welcome (even sampling the yummy fair food!)!

Friday, August 9th.   The Woodsman Competition ran long and was filled with contests and a multitude of competitors!   Hats off to new folks, older folks, season folks, and beginners! Thanks to all who made sure the contest was still able to happen after the crazy week! Brett Allen Morgan took the stage at 7pm for his one-man high-energy show, filled with patriotism, faith, a huge variety of music, and serious dedication!   Veterans were recognized by Brett and we thank him immensely for that! A group of his 'Barnyard Bunchies' joined the crowd too -- Brett has a television show on the Old CBS Network via Rumble, and several of his viewers/followers made the trek to Cochranton!

Saturday, August 10th. Our final day. Abundant sunshine. Teeka K-9 Tricks joined the Spin-ette Twirling Club on stage in the morning to bring their parade talents to the fairgrounds. By 1pm, the pedal tractor pull was underway on the stage with some serious competition for those ages 3-10. Those littles gave the tractor and sled a true workout! Sadly, the fire department returned to the station without a water battle. Maybe after Tuesday's rain, everyone was afraid to get wet? We're still not sure what happened there. The horses headed home in the afternoon and the grounds almost seemed quieter, but not quite. In lieu of the garden tractor pull, our NEW Antique Equipment Department held a tractor parade around the arena!   Exhibits in the home show building were picked up dung the evening and we were thrilled to welcome DANJO to the stage at 7pm too!   They replaced our 2023 Saturday night act for us this year and they rocked the night away, taking a break at just the right time so that everyone could enjoy the fireworks at dusk! DANJO returned to the stage, featuring Barefoot Joe and Danny Kensy, never missing a beat through the closing of the fair.

Sunday, August 11th......True, the 'fair' closed on Saturday night, but our volunteers..... They were there Sunday cleaning up, and Monday, and Tuesday. Did you know there's a lot of work that happens after the fair, not just before the fair? It takes a year to plan each years fair, and we begin as the fair is winding down (we make a suggestion list on a white board to start with). Any leftover hay, straw, and sawdust must be moved (it's a wonder any was left after the Tuesday rains). Pens, stalls, gates, crates, cages are dismantled and stowed away for the next year. The final trash pickup and 'policing of the grounds' is done (even with lots of trash cans, some folks are unkind and still litter). Books and paperwork continue to be balanced so that premiums can be issued. Lest we forget any name, no specific names are listed for any department, just know that we love our team of volunteers who rose above the occasion this year! We've had at least one volunteer in the hospital, another few with health concerns so they had to scale back their duties, and everyone who's totally exhausted. Think of them, if you will, as they returned to work this week, their regular family and other activities. Did you know that many who volunteer take and spend their vacation at the fair helping out? They don't travel far away, they help in their community.
Sponsors, Donors, Givers. Thank you! Without all of you, we could not keep the fair flourishing.

The 2024 fair theme is "Flourishing with Opportunity Rooted in Agriculture" -- our volunteers (of the fair and all those organizations who set up their tents/booths/stands/etc for the week of the fair truly keep the fair flourishing, while our participants keep us rooted in agriculture. The parade theme was "Communities that Flourish" and this year, our fair proved that our community is flourishing!   We're not going to let a little rain ruin our parade, and it did not ruin our fair! Our community members, volunteers, exhibitors, and visitors allowed us the opportunity to flourish once again!
Thank you!

FAIR PREMIUM BOOKS

7/9/2024

The annual premium books have been available online for several weeks at this point, and the printed (hard paper) copies started being distributed last week after coming in from the printer.
We are getting excited for the 2024 fair and hope you are too!
A few housekeeping notes:
Corrections to all copies of Premium Book:
Page 5: Sunday Exhibits to be entered in Home Show building Noon - 6:00pm AND Monday 8:00am - Noon. Judging begins at 1:00pm.
Page 12: Addition of "Rabies is Recommended, NOT Required."
Page 16: Delete end of Rule 3 ("and a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI).")
Page 16: Add at end of Rule 5 "(OR a current VCPR in lieu of CVI)"
Page 24: Telephone number corrected ONLINE ONLY to 814-795-0292.
Page 25: Rule 14 should read "10:30AM" instead of 6PM
Page 51: the section "SECTION 2 ~ CRAFTS" has been added following
#9 of Section 1 ONLINE ONLY.
Page 74: Change Float theme to "Communities that Flourish"

PLEASE check the hard / paper copy of the book you may have picked up. If pages 12, 16, and 74 do not have stickers with corrections, please refer to the copy online. A few of the books were anxious to jump out of their delivery boxes and dashed out of the fair office without letting our volunteers fix them.
IF you have any questions, please contact the head of the department in which you are interested in!
Contact numbers are available on this website and in the individual departments.

Annual Chalk Walk is here!

7/2/2024

Exciting summertime events are here!
The Chalk Walk hosted by the Cochranton Community Fair Junior Fair Board is underway at Lions Park in Cochranton this week!
Art, done in chalk, is enhancing and brightening up the standard smooth black pathways through the park.
Wednesday, July 3rd, the art pieces will be judged starting at Noon! (This is a new feature this year.)
Kudos to the Junior Fair Board Members and their Mentor for the many cool projects they initiate and see to fruition!
This year, they've even brought in a guest artist who spent HOURS creating a marvelous holstein cown portrait! Inspiration to other artists for sure!
Stop by!
Go for a walk and enjoy the feast-for-the-eyes art in our park!
The Chalk Walk officially runs through July 4th, BUT, we know how chalk is...... it will last until the next rain washes it away, or maybe a shade longer depending on the severity of the weather.
Here's hoping for clear skies and long-lasting art!

Also, huge shout-out to the Junior Fair Board for their work in hosting the Zero-Mile Fun Run Memorial Day weekend at the fairgrounds! One of the most fun (and easiest) races around!

Coming later in July: Gingerbread House-building class!

If you see these fine students and their mentor, give them a "high five" if you will!

1st Marathon at the Fairgrounds!

5/3/2024

Who's Hungry?

3/11/2024

With the winter storm we just had (hopefully the last one for months to come!), it makes one think of comfort food, savory things like roast turkey, stuffing and trimmings, delicious desserts..... and indeed, the Cochranton Community Fair Association is preparing to deliver!
Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 3:00pm-6:00pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Social Hall in Cochranton, you will find our annual fundraiser:
This year we're having a turkey dinner! Our popular basket raffle will be on site as well!
Dine-in or carry-out!
$14.00 for adults and $8.00 for kids 12 and under.
Feel free to share our flyer and bring your friends and family to Cochranton Saturday, April 6th!

2024!

1/30/2024

Spring is just around the corner!
Our Fair Board is diligently working on new ideas and making plans for the 2024 fair and our Junior Fair Board is ready to seek new members!
Applications for the Junior Fair Board are available on the Junior Board's page on this website. Teens meeting the qualifications are encouraged to apply! We love working with our young people!
You can direct link to the page by clicking here.
Looking forward to an amazing fair season!