HARRISBURG, Pa. — Enjoy a fall-weather preview of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, complete with homemade barbecue, draft horses on parade, and opportunities for hands-on learning and up-close visits with livestock with the Keystone International Livestock Exposition (KILE) starting Thursday, October 3, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
Unique events like the Keystone Classic Barbeque Competition, Agri-Kid Olympics and Farm-City Day fill the Farm Show venue Thursday through Sunday, October 6. It all surrounds KILE, the East Coast’s largest livestock show, with barns filled with thousands of the best cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and horses representing 27 states and Canada.
“The heart of KILE, for 63 years and counting, has been the top notch animals in competition and the exhibitors who bring them,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “Food, entertainment, and the spectacle of shows like the 6-horse hitch are packed into four days at the Farm Show Complex. Make a day of it and bring your family to experience agriculture from farm to fork.”
Beef, sheep, swine and draft horse shows take center stage and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture hosts the annual Farm-City Day, where nearly 2,500 schoolchildren will experience the agriculture industry through 28 learning stations, then take extra time to explore the barns at KILE.
Meanwhile, the Stockmen’s Trade Show returns to the Northeast Hall with the latest innovations in animal agriculture and shopping opportunities with nearly a dozen vendors. Enjoy a Farm Show milkshake at the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association milkshake stand.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings feature draft horse hitch events, including the North American All Breeds 6-Horse Hitch Classic Series and the Haflinger Hitch Pony Champion Series classes. Here, some of the country’s best draft horse and draft pony operations will compete for berths at the national finals. Watch the power, strength, teamwork and pageantry. Afterward, enjoy lightweight and heavyweight horse pulls.
Also competing for bragging rights and a national finals berth are barbeque pit masters who take over the North Lot adjacent to the Expo Hall with the 12th Annual Keystone Classic Barbeque Competition, an official Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event. Barbequers stay close to their grills Friday overnight preparing their entries for the events on Saturday, where they compete with chicken, ribs, pork and brisket for the opportunity to represent Pennsylvania at the national competition in Kansas City, Mo. Sample the barbeque, then cast your vote for your favorite in the People’s Choice Bell & Evans chicken contest.
Also on Saturday, kids can participate in the down-home fun of the Fulton Bank Agri-Kid Olympics in Northeast Hall. The Pedal Power Pull, a pedal tractor pulling contest with prizes for the farthest pulls, headlines the Olympics at 3 PM.
With fun, food, and farm animals galore – plus free parking and admission – KILE features four days’ worth of activities perfect for an early-fall family outing.
The Keystone International Livestock Exposition is the largest livestock show on the East Coast, with more than 1,300 beef cattle, 300 horses, 1,500 sheep, 300 swine, and 375 goats in 2018. This year, more than 725 exhibitors from 27 states and Canada are competing in livestock events. The show also includes the 12th Annual Keystone Classic Barbecue Competition, a Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned event to select the state’s finest culinary competitors.
All events are open to the public with free admission and parking. Find more information and a complete schedule of events at www.keystoneinternational.pa.
–Shannon Powers, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture