Butler Farm Show to carry on after Trump rally shooting on grounds
BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) -- After the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in western Pennsylvania, the Butler Farm Show grounds have been talked about in the news cycle for several weeks all over the world. The nonprofit that owns the grounds wants to put that day of the rally behind them, looking forward to who they are and what they do.
KDKA-TV crews on Thursday were the first media allowed on the grounds since the Trump rally on July 13. The visit wasn't about the rally or ongoing investigations, but about the grounds moving forward, specifically what it considers the biggest event of the year: the Butler Farm Show.
Slews of volunteers have been at the grounds for days, setting up chicken coops, decorating horse barns and getting ready to celebrate new livestock winners for 2024. But while banners hang proudly, what happened during the Trump rally does not hang so well.
The Butler County Farm Shows' homepage talks about that saying, in part:
"We are grieved by the tragic event that occurred at the Butler Farm Show grounds during former President Donald J. Trump's rally ... The Butler Farm Show grounds were rented by the Trump campaign team to host their rally, and we want to clarify that our role was limited to providing the venue, with no further involvement in the event."
The farm show is looking forward to next week, which for them is the biggest week of the entire year.
"This is something that is my favorite week of the year," said 17-year-old Lilly Ansell, the president of the Butler County 4H Dairy Club. "I count down from the moment the farm show ends until the next farm show the next year."
Lilly is a sixth-generation farmer raising livestock. She will display her dairy cattle in one of the barns on the grounds starting on Monday.
"We're all one big family," she said. "We all put in a lot of effort and have a really big passion for not only agriculture but for our community and we want to share that with others."
In past years, the show has received between 40,000 to 60,000 visitors. They're aware this year it may be more, with some just coming to look at where it all happened.
The grounds are leased throughout the year to many events. The rally was just one, admittedly tragic as it may have been. But again, their attention is moving away from that tragic day and towards a celebration -- a celebration of people of the area and their love for all things farming at the 2024 Butler Farm Show.
It's also an incredible bargain: $10 bucks gets you through the gates. That's for the rides, for the attractions -- everything. The show starts next Monday, running through Saturday.