In the spirit of celebrating America’s heritage and embracing the 2026 Great Allentown Fair theme, “Something Old, Something New, FOREVER, RED, WHITE and BLUE,” the fourth annual Lehigh County Agricultural Education Day was held recently inside the Agri~Plex.

Fourth-grade students from Ramos, Lehigh Parkway, Hays and Mosser Elementary schools in the Allentown School District participated in interactive stations designed to provide hands-on, life-science learning experiences.

The Great Allentown Fair and the Lehigh County Agricultural Society, passionate supporters of local agriculture, partnered with the Lehigh County Granges, Lehigh County Farm Bureau and the Penn State Agricultural Extension and 4-H Program to bring this joint effort to life, offering city students a fun and educational taste of the countryside.

At the conclusion of this event, students were given a special take-home project, creating large red, white and blue paper quilt squares, a project made possible by The Great Allentown Fair Foundation.

These student-made paper quilt squares have been mounted together to form a full, large-scale quilt that will be proudly displayed at the 2026 Great Allentown Fair taking place Sept. 2-7, 2026.

This creative project reinforces the agricultural education the students received during the event while also tying into the upcoming 250th anniversary of the formation of the United States.

As the fair prepares for its 174th year, it aims to continue honoring this historic celebration of America in meaningful and memorable ways.

Be sure to keep a lookout for the students’ quilt display in the Agri~Plex at the 2026 Great Allentown Fair.