When The Great Allentown Fair announced its first “Local Legends Live” show this year, it noted how “local music and its passionate fan base have long been a cornerstone of the Lehigh Valley community … bringing people together through shared experiences.”

The eight-hour, mini-music festival on the Fair’s Service Electric Grandstand Stage Sept. 6 did that, collecting an audience that seemed to represent fans of all six of the acts: The Aardvarks, Scott Marshall & The Highway Souls, Strange Culture, Common Bond, Stereotype and Social Call.

More than that, “Local Legends Live” seemed to be a celebration of local music acts. The day was filled not only with strong performances, but with compliments and good will from all of the performers who took the stage, and recognition of the accomplishment of playing the Fair’s main stage.

“It’s a dream come - - - - - - - true,” Larry Werner, guitarist, vocalist with the band Social Call, said from the stage. “My buddy asked me how long it took me to get here. I was going to say 15 minutes, but, no, it took me 40 - - - - - - - years.”

That kind of appreciation imbued the performers, whom all seemed to be pushing themselves to give strong efforts.

On what turned out to be a virtually perfect weather day, alt-rock, nu metal, metalcore band Strange Culture kicked off the show to a light crowd, perhaps 125.

The track part of the Grandstand was set up with 32 tables of 10 seats each, with a large “pit” space between, mirroring the setup in a performance hall or club that the bands likely often play.

For the early acts in the lineup, about half the audience chose to be seated in the spacious grandstand, which offered shade from a brilliant sun.

Perhaps as much as the audience, Strange Culture clearly enjoyed being on the Grandstand stage.

“I’ve been thinking and dreaming about being on this stage since I was about five-years- old,” singer Nick Schubert told the audience before the song “Looking Glass,” which chugged along like a Led Zeppelin number.

The crowd, while small and distant, also was enthusiastic.

Strange Culture was followed by Common Bond with a pleasant and accessible 50-minute set of songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd and others.

Scott Marshall, who performed with his eight-member band Highway Souls, during its set called out all the bands to note the diversity of the music at “Local Legends Live.”

“Right here at Allentown Fair; who would have thought,” Marshall said. “A little bit of country, a whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll.”

Marshall, too, raved about playing the Grandstand stage.

“I remember growing up all those years [thinking] ‘One day, maybe, one day maybe,’” he said. “Well, today’s the day!”

The audience had grown to about 200 people in the Grandstand and on the track as Marshall and Hillbilly Souls played songs such as Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life,” into which he inserted references to Allentown.

By then, the communal atmosphere of the festival had developed: people at the tables talking, sharing stories about the bands. People also had started gathering in the pits, again, as if in a club, to be closer to the bands.

A few songs into Social Call’s set, some had begun to dance to Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.”

By the time Social Call’s set had finished near 7 p.m., the crowd had begun shifting from the Grandstand to the track, with more than 50 in the pit and 100 seated at the tables. Throughout the day, the audience likely didn’t exceed 250.

When popular Lehigh Valley cover band Stereotype, which specializes in classic hard rock and hair metal, took the stage with The Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” the sun had begun sinking low, and the atmosphere turned even more into a party.

By nighttime, people were dancing and crowding the stage, as they do in the best club shows in the Lehigh Valley.

“What a great honor it is to be out here rocking with you people,” Stereotype singer Mike Stanley told the audience.

“Local Legends Live” concluded with a set by longtime Lehigh Valley favorite party band The Aardvarks, who just a month ago had a well-attended show at Musikfest and who play the closing weekend Sept. 11 at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks, Bethlehem.

In a set that included Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”; Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” and Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me,” Aardvarks singer Mike Rauscher captured the camaraderie of the day.

“We got here for Stereotype and we shouldn’t have to follow them,” Rauscher said. “All of them. This is a treat.”