Bloomsburg Fair Preview Day
Bloomsburg, PA (2023)
The Bloomsburg Fair is a nine day long event that begins at 2:00 pm on a Friday and ends at 10:00 pm on the following Saturday. The first day of the Fair is called "Preview Day" because not everything is opened for business yet, but the admission price is reduced to $3.00.
I had never been to a Preview Day before because I wasn't sure if enough things would be open to make it worthwhile, but since we were planning to go three times this year, we decided to give it a shot.
Most of the animal pens were empty (75% or more), but some of the animals were there with folks who were happy to talk about them and answer questions from anyone who asked.
Most of the games and rides, including the Sky Ride, were all up and running, though there might been a few that were shut down that I didn't notice.
There were also live performances at the free stage starting at 2:00 pm and continuing throughout the day.
All things considered, Preview Day at the Bloomsburg Fair is a fun experience. If you're going mostly for the food or the rides and don't care too much about seeing what's in the exhibition buildings or seeing all of the animals, I'm sure that you'll have a good time.
Take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt because none of what I'm about to say is an official count by any means, and I'm sure it could change from year to year from a number of variables. This is just one man's best guess after attending Preview Day in 2023 which took place under reasonably pleasant weather (a little chilly at night, but warm during the day and with no rainfall).
Here is what we have learned about Preview Day:
The Horticultural Hall, Agricultural Hall, Arts & Crafts Hall, the Industrial Exhibits building, and the Educational Exhibits building are closed for judging. They are open to the public starting on Saturday and remain open throughout the rest of the Fair.
Roughly 70% of the food stands were open for business when we arrived just after 2:00 pm. More of them opened throughout the day.
The long building underneath the grandstand, and most of the vendors inside were open for business. There might have been a dozen tables that were tarped off or not yet set up, but the vast majority of them were ready for customers.
There were also live performances at the free stage starting at 2:00 pm and continuing throughout the day.
All things considered, Preview Day at the Bloomsburg Fair is a fun experience. If you're going mostly for the food or the rides and don't care too much about seeing what's in the exhibition buildings or seeing all of the animals, I'm sure that you'll have a good time.
Personally, I wouldn't want to make Preview Day my only day because the animals and exhibition buildings are two of my favorite things about the Fair, but if the weather is nice and I'm able to get out of work early enough to get there at around 2:00, I'd be glad to make this a regular tradition. It's a good way to try a lot of different foods while the crowds and lines are relatively small, and to get a feel for where all of the different food stands are located because it can be pretty easy to get lost on the fairgrounds when you're looking for one of your favorite stands. I'm sure it'll also help us to enjoy the animals and the exhibition buildings when we go back because we aren't trying to squeeze everything all into one day.
