Visiting animals at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
A polar vortex meant an attendance decline at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, Harrisburg, which was held Jan. 4-11, after last year’s robust event that saw approximately 585,000 attendees pass through the gates.
Heidi Crager, assistant executive director, declined to give an attendance figure because the free event makes tabulating those numbers difficult. A survey was conducted last year, which accounts for that figure, a 46-percent increase over the 2012 attendance of around 400,000.
“We had a hard time getting a real good feel on that but it was close to that or a little lower than that,” Crager said. “We could tell by the numbers of cars parked.”
The polar vortex formed on Jan. 2 and sent temperatures plunging to record below-zero lows over much of the Eastern United States.
The Pennsylvania Farm Show differs from other agricultural fairs that do not take place in warm climes in that it is held in the middle of winter and completely indoors at the Pennsylvania Farm Show and Expo Center. The venue is 24 acres with about 1 million square feet of exhibit space, “under one roof.”
There is no carnival but the Pennsylvania State Showman’s Assn. installs a 60-year-old-plus merry-go-round indoors for the week, and attendees can ride it for $2. Total merry-go-round revenue was $14,824.50.
“The funds collected benefit the Farm Show Scholarship Foundation as well as the showman’s association,” Crager said.
Officials probably will discuss the possibility of bringing in more indoor rides during upcoming planning sessions, Crager added, although “we’re starting to run out of space.”
As the name indicates, the Pennsylvania Farm Show concentrates on agricultural exhibits, “everything from farm to forest.” Culinary demonstrations take place around the clock, Crager added.
The exhibits emphasize the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Pennsylvania Preferred branding program, stylized as PA Preferred, Crager added. The program operates throughout the commonwealth to promote locally created and grown products.
As such, food vendors include groups such as the Pennsylvania Cooperative Potato Growers Inc. selling baked and sweet potatoes and French fries; the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Assn. selling milkshakes, toasted cheese sandwiches and ice cream; the Pennsylvania Bee Keepers Assn. selling honey waffles and honey products; the Pennsylvania Mushroom Growers selling cream of mushroom soup and grilled portabella sandwiches, etc.
“Sales were down a bit,” Crager said. “It coincided with the decrease in attendance and inclement weather. The Farm Show Complex and Expo Center does not directly benefit financially from their sales.”
The Pennsylvania Farm Show does have an exclusive catering concession agreement with Centerplate, however.
“They service the facility throughout the year and we receive a percentage of their sales,” Crager added. “During the Farm Show, their catering sales increased compared to last year.”
Those revenues went up in spite of the attendance decline, she said, because “catered and banquet events at the facility continue to grow.”
The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center is home to 80 major year-round events and 300 smaller meetings and conventions, Crager said.
Although admission is free, the charge to park is $10. The facility has various lots located on the grounds and close by, as well as off-site parking at the nearby Harrisburg Area Community College. Attendees are shuttled in free from the farther lots.
The Farm Show held a concert this year, regional country act Ben Gallaher, who played in the facility’s 7,318-seat arena the night before the event opened. About 500 attended the free show.
“It was our first concert during a Farm Show,” Crager said. “We have various concerts during the year, and we had him the night before the Farm Show started to kick off the celebration.”
The Farm Show’s year-round budget remained the same as last year’s at $9.5 million. Sponsorships were up, Crager added.
“They support a lot of extra activities, more than they have in the past,” she said.
Sponsors include Ford, Nationwide and Highmark, Crager said. Also, in 2012, the Farm Show entered into a five-year, $750,000-naming rights agreement with Weis Markets for the facility’s Weis Expo Hall.
“This public/private partnership will help in the operation of the complex with minimal taxpayer dollars,” she added. “Complex management has succeeded in operating the complex more efficiently by reducing costs and increasing revenues over the past five years.”
In marketing, the Farm Show introduced social media such as Twitter and Facebook to the mix, which was done through the Pennsylvania Farm Show’s Scholarship Foundation, Crager said. The Farm Show has had a smartphone app for several years that helps attendees negotiate the event and provides updated schedules.
“We also have a great relationship with the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau,” Crager added. “They do a lot of marketing through that partnership.”
Next year’s dates will be Jan. 10-17.
Interviewed for this article: Heidi Crager, (717) 724-6941