Family Fun at the Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an annual event that is held every year in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The PA Farm Show is always held during the month of January and attracts thousands of visitors from all across the country.

What is the farm show all about? It’s a chance to show-off Pennsylvania’s agriculture businesses, as well as other Made in PA products and services. It’s a week long event that is open to the public (free admission) but you do need to pay for parking.

At the event you’ll have the opportunity to see all kinds of different animals: cows, horses, chickens, goats, sheep, alpacas, pigs, peacocks, rabbits and more! You can get up close & personal with many of the animals and learn more about them.

Throughout the week they have various competitions: horse pulling, rodeo, milking, etc. The type of things you would see at a large rodeo or at a state fair out west. A lot of the farm animals are entered into judging contests where they can win ribbons and prizes…for example the best in show, etc. Some of the animals will go up for auction at the end of the event.

If you love food…you can visit the food court  where you can purchase Pennsylvania-made foods. One of the big draws in the food court are the famous freshly-made milkshakes! The milk used in these milkshakes is freshly obtained from the cows at the farm show! I always treat myself to a chocolate shake when I’m there.

Last year while at the farm show we were lucky and happened to be there while a calf was born. We got to watch the last 8-10 minutes of labor and then out popped a beautiful baby cow! Oh my gosh, what a real treat! The grandchildren love stopping by to see all of the baby peeps that are on exhibit and swimming around.

One of the big draws at the Pennsylvania Farm Show every year is the annual butter sculpture. The one that I’m featuring in my post today is the Butter Sculpture from 2018 (last January). Every year these butter sculptures change to depict a new theme & design. They take hours, upon hours to sculpt and make. Such talented artists for sure! After the event is over, they break-down those sculptures and donate the butter to area food banks and shelters, along with other leftover food & goods.

I’ve been going to the Pennsylvania Farm Show every year since the mid 1980’s and its a family tradition for all of us to go. Matter of fact, we look forward to going every year!