Butler, Pennsylvania – The 76th annual Butler Farm Show opened Monday at the very spot where an assassination attempt on former President Trump took place just three weeks ago.
Vendors and organizers were busy Sunday preparing for the event, which runs Aug. 5-10, while police presence was all but absent.
Butler Farm Show President Ken Laughlin said late Sunday that he and other organizers are looking forward to the start of the festival, but the July 13 shooting and its aftermath are still weighing heavily on their minds.
“I am very saddened by what happened here, as you know, a good man lost his life and three were injured,” Loughlin said, referring to the injuries of Trump and supporters David Duch and James Copenhaver, and the death of Corey Comperatore.
Butler slams local police for ‘inappropriate’ handling of Trump incident: ‘threw me under the bus’
Still images taken by a drone from Fox Flight Team show the Butler Farm Show complex in preparation for this year’s event. (Fox News Flight Team)
“We know it’s going to be a hard thing to get through, but we’re all excited for the Agricultural Show to start and for life to get back to normal.”
“It’s a family event, so everyone is excited to make it happen.”
With security lapses at President Trump’s rallies making headlines for weeks, Fox News Digital asked Loughlin if any additional preparations were being made in that regard for the rally.
“Yes,” he replied, “and we’ll be getting additional assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police this week.”
Vendors began preparing for the Butler Farm Show about two weeks after the assassination attempt on former President Trump. (Sarah Rumpf-Whitten/Fox News Digital)
in Separate StatementOrganizers said they would continue to cooperate with the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt, adding that they and the surrounding area were working to “heal and move forward as a community.”
A public meeting was also held at the site on Sunday evening. Butler Eagle.
A Democratic official who visited Butler said local officials told him “we need to have more conversations” about the USSS’s failures.
Still images taken by Fox Flight Team’s drone show the Butler Farm Show complex getting ready for this year’s event, which runs from Aug. 5-10. (Fox News Flight Team)
The Rev. Dan Schaal, a native of nearby Zelienople, helped conduct the service along with the Rev. Joel Benson of Butler Trinity Lutheran Church.
According to the newspaper, Benson said the dozens of people who attended the rally came together to “clean up and reclaim the agricultural fairgrounds for their intended purpose.”
Butler County ranks in the top half of Pennsylvania counties for agricultural production, and the Agricultural Show, as always, will aim to highlight the region’s agricultural traditions.
Flags fly at half-staff at the main entrance of the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
While both major political parties will staff kiosks at the fair, the actual exhibits will remain politically neutral and there will be no displays dedicated to Trump or his fateful appearance, officials said. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Pennsylvania has a long history of cherishing its rich agricultural traditions at both the local and statewide levels.
Many counties, like Butler County, host local events, and the Department of Agriculture hosts the nation’s largest indoor agricultural fair each January.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Still images from a Fox Flight Team drone show people preparing for the Butler Farm Show. (Fox News Flight Team)
Making his first appearance in Pennsylvania since the Butler rally, President Trump hosted a large indoor event last week at that very Pennsylvania State Agricultural Show complex in Harrisburg.
Trump joked at the time that the large arena where he spoke – which hosts a rodeo, tractor square dance and Future Farmers of America events during the annual agricultural event – reminded him of Madison Square Garden.
Meanwhile, in Butler, agricultural show organizers announced in a flyer on their website that they look forward to the fairground rides opening at 4 p.m. Monday and announced the day’s show schedule, which will include pig showmanship, a log-pulling contest and a watermelon-eating contest.
