HAHS Attends Fort Hunter Day for FIRST TIME!

By: Dylan Bowman, HAHS Board Member

September 29, 2026

HAHS President Austin Enders and Secretary Lisa Shomper stand with the HAHS table at the Fort Hunter Day celebration. Photograph by Dylan Bowman.

Just Over the Mountain

The Fort Hunter Day Festival has long been one of the events I most remember drawing in massive crowds in Central PA North of Harrisburg. Ever since I was a kid, driving past and seeing thousands of people and many dozens of vendors, I always had wanted to visit this event and see what it offered.

This year, the Halifax Area Historical Society was invited to be a vendor at the event.

There had been rain for days prior to the weekend of the festival and the threat of rain also loomed over the day of the event, causing a large reduction in the number of visitors present, but it was beyond a pleasure to be a part of this event and experience a piece of local culture that lies just over the mountain in Dauphin. From tapestries, bagpipes, and honey to agriculture, history, food, and music, the Fort Hunter Day Festival proved to be one event worth marking on the calendar each year.

Thank you to Fort Hunter for having us and for all of those who stopped by to visit our table in the barn to chat; it was a pleasure meeting you all and we at the HAHS are excited for next year's celebration!

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Visitors enjoy the various attractions at Fort Hunter Day. Photographs by Dylan Bowman.