HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A Revolutionary War-esque fife and drum company helped cut the ribbon on this year’s edition of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Saturday morning.
“It feels exactly right to usher in the semiquincentennial year at the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the nation – alongside the people who feed our communities, care for the land, and keep Pennsylvania growing,” Cassandra Coleman, executive director of America250PA, said. “The Farm Show reminds us that our Commonwealth is strongest when we come together around the values and traditions that have shaped 250 years of American independence.”
Coleman joined Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, U.S. Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, state and local officials, and agriculture leaders for the ribbon cutting at Heritage Halls in the Farm Show Complex.
Today, we celebrate an enduring symbol,” Secretary Redding said. “One not stitched in fabric, but from soil and sweat, from orchards and barns, from classrooms and city gardens, from the hands and hearts of people who care and persevere and believe in the promise of tomorrow. Today, we celebrate agriculture’s role in ‘Growing a Nation’.”
PHOTO COURTESY / COMMONWEALTH MEDIA SERVICES – Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, Congressman Glenn GT Thompson, Executive Director of America250PA Cassandra Coleman, and a host of state and local officials, as well as current and future Pennsylvania agriculture industry leaders, cut the blue ribbon, officially opening the 2026 PA Farm Show.
Wearing uniforms reminiscent of the Revolutionary War, the Revolutionary New Philly Fife and Drum Company took part in the celebration along with the Pennsylvania State Police mounted unit, a color guard from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and Carly Green, a Tamaqua area girl and a winner in the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show Star Spangled Sing-Off.
During the ceremony, Secretary Redding and guests unveiled an America250PASemiquincentennial Bell, one of a series of liberty bell replicas throughout the state. Pennsylvania artist Cody Sabol of Pittsburgh painted the bell with a quilt theme, commemorating the many elements of our nation’s agricultural roots and future.
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The Farm Show runs through Saturday, Jan. 17.
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