Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) unveiled Pennsylvania’s booth at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., after working with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to have the Keystone State represented there.
The bipartisan push to include Pennsylvania in the state fair overruled Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) claim that there weren’t any businesses from the state interested in being featured at the festival that’s highlighting all 50 states in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.
“Pennsylvania is where America’s story began, and there was no way we were going to let the Commonwealth go unrepresented during our Nation’s 250th birthday celebration,” McCormick said in a press release.
Shapiro confirmed last week that Pennsylvania would not be represented at the 16-day Great American State Fair run by Freedom 250, a private-public organization President Donald Trump created to organize festivities for the nation’s 250th anniversary.
In an interview with the New Republic, Shapiro said he pulled the state out of the fair because of a lack of interest from sponsors, adding that his aides asked companies in the state if they would like to be part of it but “none were interested.”
But McCormick and Fetterman secured private-industry sponsors to host Pennsylvania’s booth at the fair at “no cost to taxpayers.” The sponsors said they decided to be part of the event due to Pennsylvania’s “important” place in the nation’s founding.
“Pennsylvania’s story is simply too important to be missing from our nation’s capital during America’s 250th birthday celebration,” Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Luke Bernstein said. “The Keystone State belongs front and center — and we’re excited to help showcase the people, businesses, and innovation that continue to shape America’s future.”
The booth will include the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.
In the video McCormick posted, these sponsors are highlighted in the booth, along with other artifacts showcasing the state’s role in American history.
McCormick posted another video about Pennsylvania’s booth that had his chief of staff, Mark Isakowitz, praising it, saying it’s the “nicest booth” on the National Mall.
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“We’ve had an army of volunteers come down here and now look, you have Pennsylvanians and people from all over the country seeing what Pennsylvania is all about,” Isakowitz said. “It was a great volunteer citizens’ effort to get from Saturday to where we are now. Unbelievable.”
Attendees will be able to see Pennsylvania’s booth for themselves at the Great American State Fair through July 10.