This chocolate cake is part of the York Fair mural on the side of York's East Market Street Parking garage.
Even when the York Fair is closed, a wide Mural of York reminds the public of this York County rite of late summer.
But the condition of the mural also sends off other reminders - suggestions about the state of York County agriculture.
Read more at York Town Square blog post: This York Fair mural is fading from sight.
Junior curator Alyssa Zevallos, 17, of Hanover makes cotton candy during the unveiling of a York Fair history exhibit at the York County Heritage Trust.
The York Fair is over, but it lives on in an exhibit at the York County Heritage Trust.
Read more at York Town Square blog post: Young curators product York Fair exhibit: 'A Fair of Our Own'.
Check out a video of the concert here.
Alt-rockers Seether and Breaking Benjamin took over the York Fair Grandstand Wednesday night. It was the first time at this year's fair that I saw a huge line at the gates prior to a concert. Fans had been hanging out for hours just waiting to stake out a spot right next to the stage.
Last York Fair, I experienced my first Bury's Famous Hamburger.
This year, I gobbled my second and third.
But despite my best efforts, I could not get those at either fair stand serving the burgers to reveal the secret of that red sauce.
Not that I don't have it from another source.
Read more at York Town Square blog post: Bury's Burgers secret sauce: 'You won't get that recipe' .
He said:
These pre-World War II York Fair days were chockfull of patriotism. But not all was well at the fair.
The previous All's Fair post, York Fair important to black community's past, tells how this annual rite of September was a meaningful and memorable event for York's black community.
But not all parts of the York Fair spoke well of the views of fair organizers or those in power about the black community, as related by the York Town Square blog post: Good old days were at least old.
Texas rockers ZZ Top hit the York Fair Grandstand Tuesday night. No warm-up act necessary. They played their hits including "Cheap Sunglasses," "Legs," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Gimme All Your Lovin'."
Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill sported black, sparkly ensembles and played white guitars. One of my favorite parts of the show was when Gibbons swapped out for a gold guitar and then one that was white and furry.
York County Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donley shares these "fair memories":
I grew up in Allentown and went to the Allentown Fair for the first twenty years of my life and over the past twenty years as a Yorker I have attended the York Fair. Following are some memories over 40 years of "the Fair:"
People watching ... seeing and being seen ... and lots of laughing.
Sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, pumpkins, pies, cakes and the amazing people who raise them, grow them and make them.
One of my first jobs, working the Orange Julius stand and realizing that making money could be fun.
Brooks & Dunn canceled their Thursday night York Fair performance because one of them is ill, according to Gene Schenck, vice president of the fair.
The duo also canceled their next two shows in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Check www.ydr.inyork.com for more details.
This photo of the York Fair appeared in the souvenir calendar 'Sighting the Sites,' issued as part of York's 250th anniversary in 1991.
The York Fair was cited in 1991 as a York County location that throughout history has been meaningful in the lives of York's black families.
"The York Fairgrounds is certainly one of the few locations having always had its facilities open to a total community," the calendar states.
For other sites important to the black community, see the post Black history on display throughout York County on York Town Square blog.
For years, the Shady Dell stand was a fixture at the York Fair.
The York Fair has long been a place for York County icons to display their wares and sell their food. Brown's Orchards, Bury's Burgers and Bricker's Fries would be on a short list of many.
And how about the Shady Dell? Well, a new Web site will bring back memories of that south York teen hangout run by the Ettline family. Read more at York Town Square blog: 'Dell rat' blogs about southside York hangout where owners put out welcome mat.
York Fair festivities covered York's Centre Square, now Continental Square, in the 1700s. Lewis Miller shows the revelers in this drawing, courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.
Nowadays, people get married with some frquency at the York Fair. That tradition goes back to the fair's earliest years.
Read more at York Town Square blog: York Fair produces affairs to remember.
Friday night I helped to work the West York (Shiloh) PTO parking lot off of Highland Avenue. We had a ton of fun helping people park their cars/trucks. One thing I noticed is that folks park there every year to support the PTO, and we really appreciate it.
After getting soaked at the York Fair Saturday morning on my way into Memorial Hall's Culinary Corner, I was expecting the worst for that night's Gavin DeGraw show on the Toyota Grandstand. The fair was a ghost town for most of the day, but later, gusty winds cleared away the clouds and it looked my luck was about to change.
At one time, Bury's operated 11 York-area restaurants. The last one closed in 1986, but their sauce-covered burger has continued to be offered at Johnny Eagles' stand at the York Fair.
I wrote an account of my first Bury's hamburger enjoyed at the 2007 York Fair in the York Town Square post: Bury's burgers: Nostalgia on a bun.
The burger, soaked in a special tomato sauce, is an icon around York County. It's only available once a year - when the fair comes to town.
But for those who can't wait a year, try this recipe: The quest for Bury's secret hamburger recipe continues.
The York Fair hosts many an adorable baby animal. My favorite has spindly legs and a baby bottle bigger than his head.
At Toyota Arena, a popular pen near livestock judging Ring No. 1 holds a snorting calf named Boo, a 3-month-old, chestnut-colored buffalo (American Bison, technically).
Like Buffy (in a file photo, above, with owner Tupper Sverduk), Boo comes from Forge Hill Farms, a beef farm in East Manchester Township. Visitors can pat his woolly coat, and, at 6 p.m. daily, take turns holding Boo's 2.5-pint bottle as he sucks down the milk.
Bison calves are usually weaned at 7 months. The animals can live to be 30, but those raised for meat are slaughtered before age 2 for tenderness.
This aerial map, courtesy of Penn Pilot, shows York in 1938. Notice the horse track at the York Fairgrounds at left.
The Penn Pilot map shows the York Fairgrounds in the Depression era. Wonder how that section of the community looked from the air over time? Visit York Town Square blog post Map aficionados will love bird's-eye view of York County to learn how.
York Fair officials were informed Thursday afternoon that Danity Kane and special guest Jada will not perform Sept. 12 at Toyota Grandstand due to a scheduling conflict.
Tickets will be fully refunded at the York Fair Box Office, 334 Carlisle Ave. in West Manchester Township. For details, call the box office at 848-2033.
Larry the Cable Guy, redneck comedian extraordinaire, will return once more to the Grandstand to kick off this year's York Fair.
Larry has transcended the stage during his career as a stand-up, finding success in multiple mediums including movies, comedy albums, a book and multiple television specials.
Tickets are $40 and $45, and the York Fairgrounds is at 334 Carlisle Ave. in West Manchester Township. For details, visit www.yorkfair.com.
Luck won't necessarily help you beat the ring toss or the basketball free-throw at the York Fair. Chances are you'll just being throwing money away if you play any of the carnival games at the fair before checking out our tips for beating them.
We'll give you tips for beating the ring and coin tosses, basketball free-throw, guess your age, and milk bottle throw.
This poster promotes the 1928 York Fair. Notice even in those days that fair officials chose to attract crowds by promoting events involving pretty women.
The signs say the York Fair is America's first. Where does that claim come from?
York Town Square is in the search for evidence to support that. Read more at York Town Square blog post: In search of proof that York Fair is nation's oldest.
York Fairgoers gave presidential entry John F. Kennedy a warm reception in 1960.
John F. Kennedy visited the York Fair 48 years ago, a young Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency. Today, young Dem Barack Obama visits York County.
Kennedy lost to Richard Nixon in York County voting. But he was a popular draw at the fair, as told by York Town Square post: JFK's visit to York County a long-remembered event
The annual York Fair Celebration of Faith is planned for 11 a.m. Sunday (Sept. 7) at the grandstand.
As in past years, those who attend the multi-denominational service will be admitted free to the fair that day only.
The praise band from First Presbyterian Church of York will provide music, as well as Odessa Stevenson. Members of the York/Adams County Boy Scouts will read Scripture and serve as ushers.
The speaker will be the Rev. Guy Dunham (at right), the new executive director of the York County Council of Churches.
Gov. Andrew Curtin reviews troops at York's Camp Scott, the old York fairgrounds, in the early years of the Civil War. Camp Scott drew its name from Union Gen. Winfield Scott, and Curtin's name later became associated with Pennsylvania's main military camp near Harrisburg. The fairgrounds moved to its current location, west of York, in 1888. Lewis Miller drew this scene, courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.
The old York Fairgrounds, southeast corner of King and Queen streets, was the scene of pageantry early in the Civil War.
But it was also the scene of death, as it accommodated tens of thousands of raw recruits, as told in the York Town Square blog post: The horrors of Civil War struck York soon after Sumter.
For those who don't know me, I'm Joan, from the "Only in York County" blog.
One of my favorite things to talk about is the food Yorkers eat. So... you can guess I'm geared up for fair time, with its funnel cakes, magical bananas, baked potatoes, fried veggies and deep-fried Oreos, right??
I'm going to be posting about all the great things I eat at this year's fair, but I want some suggestions, too, since I tend to veer toward the old favorites - bloomin' onion, funnel cake and a hot dog.
So, I'll take requests. What should I eat?
In honor of Fair Week, here's a sneak preview of York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freireich's column, slated for print publication Sept. 7.
"My brother would take one dollar and rush to be one of the first ones inside when the gates opened," a woman reminisced to me recently about the York Fair. She grew up near the fairgrounds and "my mother would take his lunch to him in a paper bag and throw it over the fence to him at noon," she chuckled.
Everyone who grew up in York has his or her personal memories of the York Fair, which runs through this week.
As a very young child, I recall my mother was in the old West Side Hospital and her room overlooked the neighboring York Fair. "Wow. Too bad she couldn't be here during the fair," I remember selfishly thinking to myself. In my child's mind's eye, "I could hop out her window, clear the fence and be on the fairgrounds." Since my mother was in the hospital with a kidney stone attack -- as she told me many years later -- she was not about ready to repeat the episode for my "free fair" fantasy benefit.
When we were old enough, we could walk from our home in the south end of York city all the way to the west end to attend the fair. With anticipation whisking us along, it didn't seem like a very long walk at all, although it was probably about a mile and a half.
