'We got lucky': Splendid weather on final day brings 172nd Allentown Fair to an end

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — After 77 years of living in the city, curiosity is what keeps Donna and Barry Paules coming back to the Allentown Fair every year.

Donna said she's gone every year, her whole life.

"It's changed a lot over the years," she said. "There's hardly anything here compared to what it used to be."

Back then, she said, it seemed like there were more food stands, more games and more shows. But that didn't stop her from her annual pilgrimage.

This year, the Paules' went with Donna's daughter and granddaughter in tow. Donna said the food is the star of the fair — although her daughter joked it was the free tickets they scored for seniors.

For vendors, the food was equally as exciting.

Employees at one of the Danny's Fresh Lemonade stands said it was a "good week," but couldn't say how much the stands sold — still, seemingly every other passerby had the signature fair drink in hand.

Cyndi VanGilder, owner of Scarlet Fire Pizza, said it was her first year at the fair as a vendor and a visitor.

VanGilder said she got the idea to apply as a vendor to the Allentown Fair after attending the Florida State Fair — VanGilder said she's traveled all over from the pizza shop's home in the Poconos.

Business this year was "great," she said, with the same customers coming over and over again.

"I love the food selections," VanGilder said. "They obviously do a variety, otherwise you would have, you know, 20 taco vendors... And I had checked [the fair] out on YouTube in the years prior to see if it was something I wanted to do.

"And they have a lot of midway vendors and a lot of local vendors. And I said, 'there's definitely a spot for me here,' when I looked at that."

Jessica Ciecwisz, the fair's marketing and entertainment manager, attributed the vendors' success to the weather.

The fair started off Wednesday on a rocky note with a grandstand concert by Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult delayed by a storm. But it was pretty much clear sailing the rest of the way.

"We were blessed with great weather," Ciecwisz said. "We got lucky. We know where some storms are approaching, that broke up, and we were blessed with that."

Temperatures hung around the mid 90s early on to the low to mid 70s as Labor Day marked the traditional end to the summer season.

Regardless, dedicated fairgoers trekked through the heat to attend the fair's opening night on Wednesday, with some comparing its importance to national holidays.

"I said every year, you know, our attendance and the fair results and success, rely very, very highly on weather," Ciecwisz said. "And we were lucky for another great week."

U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick stopped by Monday. It was one of two stops he made in the Lehigh Valley — one at the fair and one earlier in the day at the Lookout Fire Company's annual Labor Day parade in Pen Argyl.

A Republican, McCormick is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in the November election.

After a round of pictures with fairgoers, McCormick also praised the weather, calling it "fantastic."

But he said what stood out was the atmosphere — both from the people there and the environment around them.

"I love it," McCormick said of his first time at the fair. "I don't know what the politics are, but everybody's upbeat and happy and feeling a lot of good energy."