2026 Lebanon Area Fair features a diverse lineup of entertainment

From performing sea lions to a tribute show for a country music legend, the entertainment lineup at the 70th edition of the Lebanon Area Fair is among its most diverse to date.

That decision was a purposeful move on the part of the entertainment committee, according to chairman Dana Lape – although there are plenty of traditional acts like Boston Bachert who are making their returns to the fair, too.

“You can say that this is the year of thinking outside of the box for the Lebanon Area Fair,” Lape said. “We always like to make things a little more exciting, a little more interesting.”

Lape provided a statistical overview of entertainment over the course of the eight-day agricultural extravaganza, which runs Saturday, July 25, through Saturday, Aug. 1: 

• 9 bands on the Main Stage
• 2 midway shows (including the sea lions)
• 1 petting zoo, which he said is tops in the nation
• 11 musical acts in Wenger Pavilion
• 2 nights of country line dancing
• A record number of farm animal entries

“I’ll tell you what, you can’t beat the entertainment that you get at the Lebanon Area Fair for five bucks,” Lape said, which is the admission price after 3 p.m. “I mean, that’s hard to get that kind of musical entertainment, the (midway) shows we have, and the ability to just see the animals, the farm animals (at that price).”

He noted there are five bands making their inaugural Lebanon Area Fair appearance, a performance by up-and-coming, award-winning Nashville artist Faith Noel on Aug. 1, and Nixon Harmony, a band from western Pennsylvania that won the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show’s talent show, will hit the stage on July 29.

“DJ Chicken Nugget, who packs the pavilion on a Thursday night, will have a second show this year,” said Lape, noting an additional show was added on the first Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Wenger Pavilion. “It is country line dancing, just like on Thursday, but this one is going to be like Thursday night on steroids.”

It’s also an outside-of-the-box kind of year for the level of farm animals that will be exhibited, according to Lape.

“We have record breaking numbers of farm animals this year. I’d put us up against even the York Fair given the amount of animals we will have this year,” he said. “Record breaking number of hogs. It’s just pretty impressive, you know, what the Lebanon Fair puts on for our guests.”

Lape noted a real “get” that contributed to the unique lineup is the first Lebanon Area Fair appearance of Sea Lions Splash, from Texas, with performances at 5, 7 and 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday, and shows at 7 and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We’re always looking for something different. And this is our 70th anniversary,” Lape said, adding that country singer Dylan Scott was the main attraction at the fair’s 60th anniversary. “Instead of doing a one-night concert like we did 10 years ago, we thought that we’d spend a little more money and bring in a show that’s gonna be there every night of all eight days.”

That decision required them to start the booking process about five years ago to secure a show that’s considered among the best midway acts in the nation.

“There’s just a handful of really, really good midway shows out there that are really top notch, and this is one of them. This is one of the top 5, if not one of the top 3 midway shows that you can get from all over the country,” he said. “It just took a lot to get them to come. Like I said, they’re normally at state fairs and really big fairs, but I think they’ll be surprised how nice the fairgrounds are and how nice the Lebanon Area Fair is.”

The annual mullet contest is also back, now featuring a beard/mustache contest, according to junior fair committee member Madison Copenhaver.

The mullet contest is on Thursday, July 30, at 5 p.m. in the Beef Barn. In honor of the 250^th anniversary of the U.S., $250 cash prizes are being given to the winners of each age category. The contest is patriotic themed, with special prizes for the best dressed, according to Copenhaver.

The beard/mustache contest will be held at the same date and time and also features cash prizes. Check-in for the contest is from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

The committee is also hosting a cornhole tournament on Saturday, July 25. Cash prizes will determined by the number of entrants, Copenhaver said.

Sea Lion Splash

Sea Lion handlers Willian Tavares and wife Suzy Bartholo said it’s a treat for Lebanon to host a performance by creatures native to the California coast. 

Tavares said theirs is the only company to travel with animals they own, which are all rescue animals. They brought 22-year-old Zoey and 7-year-old Maya to Lebanon to entertain and educate their audiences. 

“So now we have four (traveling) units of this show and then we can manage to go to different places at the same time,” he said, noting fair season is their busiest time of the year. “They are also super special animals.”

Bartholo said California sea lions are highly intelligent creatures, which is one aspect that appeals to the audience.

“The show is an educational show, so that’s good for the kids, for the whole family,” she said. “We talk about recycling, pollution, the difference between seals and sea lions – which everybody asks about all the time.”

Also appealing are the personality of what Barhtholo calls “their girls.”

“During the show you can see the personality of the girls. This is so special, and everybody loves the girls. So when the show is over, you can kind of tell like, ‘Oh, this is so Maya. Maya’s doing that because it’s just her personality’ and the same is true for Zoey,” she said.

The duo shared several interesting sea lion facts, which inquisitive patrons can learn at the shows Bartholo said is “good especially for the kids because they have this chance to learn more about this sea animal.”

One point of emphasis during the 25-minute show is the need for people to take care of the planet for the sake of its animals, Bartholo said.

“I think especially about the responsibility that we need to have with the ocean, about pollution,” she said. “For these animals, it is their environment. So we have to take care of the ocean as well, and we explain to the kids what you should do if you find a bottle of water on the (sea) floor.”  

The handlers also explained why these animals need to be rescued.

“Shark bites or whale attacks. There are so many things that can happen to them in the wild and that’s a little bit of why we come here and we educate people,” Tavares said. “So that’s the good thing that we have here because people can have access to this information for free here at the fair. It’s part of their day at the fair. … This is important to know so we can keep the ocean clear for them.”

Guests also can buy a keepsake photo memory with the seals, with photo opportunities after each performance, according to Tavares.

Al Shade Tribute Show

Although Lebanon Area Fair stalwart Al Shade died in January at the age of 98, his memory will live on at the fair. 

Daughter Debbie and son Faron will pay tribute to their parents’ music at what Lape called a very special performance at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wenger Pavilion.

“Al Shade is one of the first if not the very first to sing at our fairgrounds all those years ago,” Lape said. “The yodeling he did was second to none. He had a radio show, and a Top 40 song about TMI (‘Three Mile Island’). I predict a huge crowd because it’s a memorial service to him.”

Lape said there will be 8-foot video screens showing his performances, adding, “I think it is going to be a huge hit this year at the fair, which is also on our Senior Citizens Day.”

Debbie and Faron explained why their father’s music and his appearances with his wife Jean Romaine for so many years at the fair were timeless.

“They treated the fans like family. And they loved the music. It was good harmony. They were known for their harmony and their yodeling. And I’ve had people that I’ve done business with years later,” Faron said, adding that Debbie and he will continue to perform at the fair as long as organizers will have them. “They would say, ‘Nobody had harmony like your mom and dad.’ They were perfect. They were just wonderful. And that was one of the big draws. They had fantastic harmony.”

“I think people like the tradition. It’s natural. They (mom and dad) would come up with funny jokes. They were just so natural on stage. And the music, it was just so nice. There wasn’t anything offensive about it and just a good rhythm,” Debbie said. “Mom played the snare drum back in the day. And I think people just liked the real feeling of mom and dad.”

Both said “Little Dogwood Tree” was their parents’ biggest hit and most enduring song. It and 39 other tracks compiled by Debbie and Faron will appear on a new 2-CD set of Al’s and Jean’s greatest hits, which is scheduled for release by the end of the week.

“Dad always said ‘The Little Dogwood Tree” is the one that stood out. Everybody loved that song. It was a poem written by Ethel Long from Annville, and dad put the music to it. That album was found in a (military) PX in Vietnam, and a guy that Dad knew told him that story. And he brought that album home with him from that war,” Debbie said. “We’re like, ‘Wow, how many miles away was that?’ So do you see how that music touched people? And he always said that was their best song. But I also believe that their yodeling, oh my goodness, their harmony and their yodeling together, was just classic.”