August means so many things to residents of the Northwestern corner of Pennsylvania. You can count on hot days and cool nights. You can expect to find the Allegheny foothills shrouded in fog till at least mid-morning on most days. Locally grown sweet corn is one of the area’s epicurean delicacies, partly because of its superior flavor and partly because it has such a short window of availability! And, oh yeah, the McKean Country Fair lights up the nighttime sky in East Smethport for a week or so.
McKean County residents are excited to be able to go back to the fair this year after last summer’s quarantine on just about everything associated with summertime. The 115th edition of the MCF was delayed an entire year as were most all other festivities but it is back with a vengeance in 2021. My oldest nephew and his brood travel all the way from the Bronx to visit the Pennsylvania Wilds and take in the fair on multiple nights during Fair Week. You’d think that he could find way more entertaining things to do in and around New York City, but he and his kids look forward to the tradition, the foods and the charm that make the McKean County Fair an unparalleled August destination.
For those involved in education; students and teachers, Fair Week is something of a last hurrah before heading back to the hallways of area schools. In fact, Smethport teachers report back at the end of this week! Sports teams and, finally, students report soon after. They will get a short respite with the 3-day Labor Day weekend, but then it’s back to the grindstone and another school year.
One of our most popular and well-loved meat items is our homemade Italian sausage. Most grocery stores or supermarkets buy their sausage from another manufacturer and then pass it off as their own. Often even putting their own label on it. But Costa’s sausage is hand ground, hand seasoned, hand stuffed and homemade, start to finish, right on the premises. I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they prefer our sausage to any other and that they often bring a cooler with them when they come to visit – just so they can take some back with them. It’s so popular that the Smethport Sports Booster trailer at the fair carries no others!
Stop in and sample our sausage at the Boosters booth while you’re at the fair. All proceeds go to support Smethport sports teams throughout the season. It’s a great cause and it’s all done with donated labor from parents and people from the community!
