In 1958 my father had a food stand at the fair. It took him about an hour to realize you cannot sell hot dogs in the King's back yard; Yocco, the Hot Dog King. When Yocco's claimed last year they were not at the fair because their canvas ripped, I was skeptical. This year it's official, they have abdicated their spot. Tonight the fair was jammed. In Ag Hall the granges still compete in vegetable canning. A wiseguy still incites you to dunk him. The world's smallest horse hasn't grown. Maybe Yocco's is gone, but the fair is still much more like 1958 than any other aspect of Allentown.
REPRINTED FROM AUG.28, 2007
UPDATE 2016: Yocco's has announced that they have closed their original location in the 600 block of Liberty Street.
I don’t really miss Yocco’s (since I can get enough of that at their regular locations), but I do miss Tuesday’s at the Fair.
ReplyDeleteAside from just being an extra day, Tuesday was always “Preview Night” with free admission. Free admission ultimately became reduced admission, but it was still a fun night for families.
I don’t know why Tuesday night at the fair was done away with, and I initially thought it had something to do with Covid and would be coming back. Apparently not.
Much like Bobo the insult clown in the dunking booth, Tuesday appears gone for good. It’s a shame, because it makes me think the Fair is in trouble, since the Fair got shorter instead of expanding.
As an old Allentonian, I have countless memories of the fair. Over the years both my father and I had stands at the fair. Even in more recent times, I first met Ce-Ce Gerlach campaigning for the school board outside the Liberty Street gate, and that was many years ago.
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