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The Fourth Wall
EMILY COWDRICK
Pennsylvania does not
have an official state fair.
Instead, Pennsylvania has
The Farm Show. The Penn-
sylvania Farm Show web-
site reports that it is “the
largest indoor agricultural
exposition in the country,
with nearly 6,000 animals,
10,000 competitive exhibits
and 300 commercial exhib-
its” this year.
The Farm Show opens to
the public on the Saturday
before the second week of
January and remains open
through the following Satur-
day. The week’s events in-
clude the judging of horses,
cattle, sheep, swine, rabbits,
ducks, chickens, and goats.
Far more exciting to the
public are the draft horse
hitches and the showing of
wild animals and birds of
Shaver’s Creek Environ-
mental Center. A fan favor-
ite is the pony pull. The
pony pull challenges ponies
to pull tremendous amounts
of weight, far more than
what one would expect from
an animal that is less than
58 inches tall at its shoul-
ders. Another fan favorite is
the duckling slide. Residing
next to the incubators of
hatching chicks and duck-
lings, the duckling slide is
debatably the best Farm
Show event. Every two
hours from 10am through
water and a small but steep
slide. A collection of duck-
lings are placed in the pool,
and they are one-by-one put
at the top of the slide and
given a gentle nudge down.
After their first go is when
the real fun begins. The
ducklings take to racing to
themselves and pushing
their peers down. It is easy
to see that the little fluffy
guys are having the time of
their lives. The Pennsylva-
nia High School Rodeo also
competes through the week
compete against their peers
in events that include barrel
racing, herding, goat tying,
and roping. Entertainment
can be found at Farm Show
no matter what your inter-
ests are.
The Farm Show is not the
Farm Show without the
great variety of food.
Groups including the Bee
Keepers Association, Coop-
erative Potato Growers,
Inc., Dairymen’s Associa-
Maple Syrup Producers
Council, Mushroom Grow-
ers Cooperative, Vegetable
Growers Cooper-
ative, the State
Horticultural Association,
and FFA fill the food court
with treasures. Typical
Farm Show grub includes
deep-friend mushrooms,
maple cotton candy, deep-
friend mozzarella cubes
served with marinara sauce,
and the Dairymen’s
milkshakes. Also, wineries
offer tastings and sales on
the main floor for those of
age. :
This January’s Pennsyl-
vania Farm Show marked
the ninety-seventh year for
the event, and attendance
was at a record high.. I
strongly encourage readers
to go to the ninety-eighth
Farm Show. It will take
place the second week of
January. There are things to
see, foods to chow, animals
to pet, and goodies to take
Admission is free,
but most areas to park are
not, and they may be a bit of
a hike from the Farm Show
Complex. There will be a
lot of walking over the
course of the day, so I ad-
vise attendees to wear com-
fortable shoes and not to
dress to impress. Attendees
will likely see Penn State
Mont Alto students both in
the crowds and competi-
tions. My advice to readers
is to round up a bunch of
friends, make the hour drive
to Harrisburg, fight for
parking, and spend the rest
of the day having fun. Even
if you have no desire to see
animals, go for the food.
Obama
(continued from pg. 1)
for which he received posi-
tive reactions from the
crowd because it empha-
sized on unity and commit-
ment to the task of equality.
Conservative commentators
responded to the remarks by
calling them populist or so-
cialist. Equality was also a
large topic of Obama’s
speech. President Obama
stated “It is now our genera-
tion’s task to carry on what
those pioneers began. For
our journey is not complete
until our wives, our moth-
ers, and daughters can earn
a living equal to their ef-
forts. Our journey is not
complete until our gay
brothers and sisters are
treated like anyone else un-
der the law---for if we are
to one another must be
equal as well.” There is no
doubt that president Obama
has quite a busy second
term ahead of him. Aggres-
sion from North Korea, an
unstable Middle East, and a
growing national debt our
just some of the few chal-
lenges that await the presi-
dent.
The president finished up
his inauguration day at the
traditional Washington Inau-
gural Ball held at the Wash-
ington Convention Center.
The ball included perfor-
mances from Alicia Keys,
Brad Paisly, Katy Perry, and
Stevie Wonder. Although we
live in the era of a partisan,
divided Washington, it is
certain that all of America
was captivated by this mon-
umental occasion.
surely the love we commit