The Kempton Gunmakers Fair’s second year has begun with a bang, beating concerns over the late July heat. By early morning attendance, Friday had passed Friday’s attendance in 2023 proving Pennsylvanians really love muzzleloading.

Temperatures rose over 90 degrees today but attendees, vendors, and demonstrators were all happy to be back in Kempton for the fair. I Love Muzzleloading was on the ground talking with enthusiasts from around the country about what they liked about the fair. Pennsylvanians were represented well, as were Vermont, Connecticut, New York, and Virginia. One enthusiast had traveled all the way from Arizona, Kempton was a stop on his post-retirement American Revolutionary War road trip that to date has racked up 8,000 miles.

Seminars and educational programming ran through the entire day and will continue through the weekend. The show has added a new “textile tent” seminar space for traditional American textile arts for a total of 4 educational venues on the grounds, not including individual camps and spaces where smaller educational demonstrations run throughout the day.

This year, I Love Muzzleloading is sponsoring the video filming of the seminars, I am working through Saturday to capture as many of the presentations and demonstrations as I can. These seminar videos will debut later this year on an official “Gunmakers Fair at Kempton” video channel in an effort to further promote the event and muzzleloading culture for future generations.

Planning for the weekend remains optimistic for staff and attendees at the event. The chance of rain as of writing is only 20% from 4-6 pm, making for an ideal weather situation for the show. Temperatures look to be cooler than today, welcome news for returning attendees and anyone wondering if the heat would ruin the fun this weekend.

See you at the Fair!