County fair changes venue, name - but keeps the animals

It has a new name, a new look and a new attitude -- and organizers hope it has found a new home in Shadyside's Mellon Park.

In the midst of all the changes, the Greater Pittsburgh County Fair -- formerly the Allegheny County Fair & Exposition -- has one feature that remains the same: animals, from llamas and horses to rabbits and pigs. It just wouldn't be a county fair without them, says Louella Pikras of Baldwin, a member of the fair board since 1998.

Pikras says a patron survey conducted after the last Allegheny County Fair held two years ago at South Park showed that "the No. 1 attraction people wanted to have at the fair is animals."

Granted, there isn't a pig farm for miles in the vicinity of the new Shadyside venue -- or a horse stable or a dairy cattle barn within the Pittsburgh city limits. But outlying communities and neighboring counties have been most generous in supplying entries for the agriculture competitions in its new Mellon Park location, Pikras says.

"We have horses coming from Washington County and pigs from Butler County," she says. "Our llamas are coming from Ligonier in Westmoreland County. All of the surrounding counties have really been wonderful" in helping to supply animals.

Officials hope that by fulfilling their slogan of "Bringing a little country to the heart of Pittsburgh," they can introduce urban families -- children in particular -- to the thrill of seeing live farm animals and experiencing the thrill of a county fair right in their own back yard.

"How many city kids have ever seen a cow or a llama?" asks fair manager Nan Krushinski of McCarrick Productions, Inc. "It's all about educating children."

Krushinski agrees that the approximately 20-acre Mellon Park, while praised by board members for its large open area within the city confines, presented a challenge in finding temporary housing for the farm animals during the fair's six-day run.

"We don't have the luxury of buildings, and we can't build an exhibit hall in Mellon Park, but we can provide temporary tents," she says. "We looked at the situation as more of an opportunity rather than a challenge."

Nan's sister, Maura Krushinski, is in charge of fair facilities, and she says the job of plotting where each element of the event will take place has been an adventure. "There's something really exciting about bringing the county fair to the city and giving it an urban flair," says Maura Krushinski. "We're having fun recreating places for the generators, the amusement rides, the children's area and the staging areas." She says that the size of the park, which is flanked on either side by The Ellis School and Reizenstein Middle School, is "misleading. It's a huge triangle. From the street, you don't realize the depth of its 15 to 20 acres."

She says the fair will be configured so that one section features the 25 amusement rides, another showcases the livestock exhibit, and another includes the vendor/exhibition area, all with "Main Street running through the middle with food, bingo and beverages," she says. Bingo games will feature "celebrity callers, including local politicians," she says. "It's been a pleasure to work with this site to create a fair atmosphere."

Nan Krushinski says that the Greater Pittsburgh County Fair will include all the essentials of an old-fashioned county fair with new elements to appeal to younger fairgoers.

"We're going to make it a little more contemporary," she says, especially with music offerings that include pop/rock performers and DJs for the teen crowd.

Orleans, a Top 40 band celebrating its 30th anniversary, will be the headlining act, performing Aug. 30. The group's biggest hits include "Dance With Me," "Still the One" and "Love Takes Time."

Performers representing other musical genres include Johnny Angel and The Halos and The Vogues on Wednesday, the Bulgarian Folk Ensemble and Povertyneck Hillbillies on Aug. 28, Sputzy and The Soul Providers on Aug. 29, and Mac Martin, Bluegrass and Donna the Buffalo on Aug. 31. Labor Day's entertainment Sept. 1 will feature the Boilermaker Jazz Band, and David Kincaid and the Irish Volunteers.

A mainstay of any county fair -- horticultural, agricultural and animal judged competitions -- will be part of the Greater Pittsburgh County Fair as well, Pikras says. Twenty-four categories will be represented -- from dairy cattle, poultry, rabbits and swine, to vegetables, home and dairy, floral, needlecraft, homemade wine and beer and antique farm machinery.

A miscellaneous category offers a number of participatory contests, including hog calling, bubble gum blowing, children's coloring and scarecrow building. The spouse calling and celebrity look-alike contests had not yet attracted any entrants, Pikras says.

Also provided will be a petting zoo and the state Department of Agriculture's Farmer for a Day program in which youngsters can experience farm life first-hand.

Nan Krushinski says she hopes that the new fair site, with its easy accessibility to bus lines and street parking, will prove to be a popular new location for the Greater Pittsburgh County Fair.

"This fair really yearns for a permanent home," Maura Krushinski says. "We'd love it to be Mellon Park -- but that remains to be seen."

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Greater Pittsburgh County Fair