The 78th Oley Valley Community Fair opened its third and final day Saturday with a slate of contests, music and family entertainment.
Fair president Kevin Bieber said the nice weather this year played a major role in the event’s success, as good crowds turned out for all three days of the festival..
The final day’s lineup offered something for all ages, from pedal tractor pulls and bale throwing contests to the Exeter Community Band and Ringgold Band, both longtime crowd favorites.
Cheers erupted when Angie Knarr, 55, of Lower Alsace Township was announced as winner in the women’s division of the pedal tractor pull.
Knarr, who has visual and hearing impairments, said she has never let them hold her back.
The fair is a longstanding tradition for her and her family, she said.
“I grew up in the Oley Valley and never miss a fair,” Knarr said.
For several years Knarr volunteered with her church at its fair hamburger stand. She planned to volunteer as usual this year but was given a reprieve when so many others turned out.
Bieber said the volunteer spirit behind the scenes is what makes the Oley fair unique.
Nearly 500 people rotate through shifts during the three-day event, he estimated, with about 20 churches and several community organizations preparing and serving food.
“Without them, there would be no Oley fair,” Bieber said. “You can’t serve over 5 tons of French fries yourself. You can’t serve all those hamburgers yourself.”
For decades, the food stands have been staffed entirely by local groups that receive donations from fair proceeds in return. Bieber said that as many congregations in the area have struggled with membership in recent years, the fair has welcomed groups such as the Fleetwood Rotary Club and Oley Valley High School Alumni Association to share the workload.
Individual volunteers can sign up online for shifts at refreshment stands, soda booths and other operations, he noted.
Other longtime traditions also continue to define the fair, Bieber said, pointing to the Oley Valley High School senior class cake and cider stand, which dates to 1947, the year of the first fair.
Proceeds support class events, trips and efforts.
Emma Liskey, 17, of Oley Township was among the students tending the cake stand Saturday.
“Alumni come up and say ‘I was here 50 years ago,’” Liskey said. “They tell us stories about what they did here. It’s really interesting and nice that we get to carry on the tradition.”
Though rooted in tradition, the fair remains fresh by welcoming new features and events and improving facilities.
This year’s fair introduced new restrooms built in partnership with the Oley Fire Company, which owns and also uses the fairgrounds.
A special attraction for 2025 was the semiquincentennial apron contest, part of a statewide celebration of the United State’s 250th anniversary.
Organizers in recent years added a celebrity speed-eating contest to the fair’s final day. Well-known local figures competed to raise money for charity Saturday by chowing down hamburgers, french fries and milkshakes.
Among the most popular events is the pumpkin weigh-off, held the day before the fair officially opened.
The weigh-off, introduced in 2014, was the idea of the late John Noll, a well-known Oley resident and longtime fair volunteer, Bieber said. The event draws several hundred spectators each year, he said.
This year’s growing conditions yielded a strong crop, he noted, with the heaviest pumpkin tipping the scales at 738 pounds.
Sixteen adults and a dozen young competitors entered pumpkins, competing for cash prizes and gift certificates donated by local businesses.
Fairgoers explored competitive exhibits in the agriculture and arts buildings, which Bieber called the heart of the event.
Entries are limited to residents of Oley and surrounding townships, keeping the contests a friendly competition among locals, he said.
That community focus, Bieber said, is what sets the Oley fair apart.
“It’s a good old-fashioned country fair,” he said. “It’s the atmosphere, our own food and just an all-around good time. For a lot of people, it’s like a family reunion.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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