Jim Victor and Marie Pelton pose with this year's butter sculpture. The sculpture is made from more than 1,000 pounds of butter and took 14 days to craft. Ben Wasserstein- WITF
Here’s a look at the 2024 Pa. Farm Show butter sculpture
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LNP|LancasterOnline Staff
The 2024 Pennsylvania Farm Show kicks off Saturday, but first, it’s time to reveal the butter sculpture.
The 1,000-pound butter sculpture follows this year’s theme, “Connecting Our Communities,” chosen to show how agriculture connects communities while keeping an eye on the future, and celebrates the 20th anniversary of PA Preferred, the statewide brand for locally grown and made agricultural products.
The sculpture was unveiled in Harrisburg at 10 a.m. Thursday. Watch the livestream from LNP|LancasterOnline below, or if you’re using our mobile app, visit the LNP|LancasterOnline Facebook page to watch at https://facebook.com/lancasteronline.
The sculpture, the farm show’s 33rd, is called “A Table for All” and features Pennsylvanians from urban and rural areas sharing a meal, against city and farm skylines. The work was created over 14 days with more than 1,000 pounds of butter donated by Land O’ Lakes in Cumberland County. (After the show, the butter is recycled at at Juniata County farm and used for energy.)
Philadelphia area-based food sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton created the sculpture. The pair has crafted 22 farm show butter sculptures since 1995.
“Creating art that showcases the hard work of dairy farmers is an immense source of pride for us,” Victor said.
“We also enjoy knowing that the sculpture tells an impactful story about the importance of agriculture,” Pelton said.
Last year’s sculpture followed the theme “Rooted in Progress.”
“Pennsylvania’s $14 billion dairy industry provides jobs 53,000 Pennsylvanians and makes up a third of our state’s food agriculture industry,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said at the unveiling. “Our hardworking dairy farm families are connecting Pennsylvanians to opportunity and feeding our prosperity together.
The PA Farm Show runs Saturday, Jan. 6, through Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center at North Cameron and Maclay streets in Harrisburg. The food court is open on Friday, Jan. 5, but no other sections of the Farm Show will be open to the public that day. Here are the event’s hours:
– Friday, Jan. 5: Noon – 9 p.m. (food court only, free parking)
– Saturday, Jan. 6: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
– Sunday, Jan. 7: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
– Monday, Jan. 8 – Friday, Jan. 12: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
– Saturday, Jan. 13: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.