BLOOMSBURG -- Some new additions are planned for the 159th annual Bloomsburg Fair that's a little more than two weeks away.
Visitors to the fair will notice a mural showing how the fair has bounced back from the Flood of 2011.
Ramona Schaffer of Orangeville spent most of her summer painting the mural on the side of a building at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds. The artist is showcasing her skills to paint a mural showing what the fairgrounds looked like in 2011 when the fair was cancelled because of the flood.
"It looked like a war zone," she said.
The other half of the mural is colorful. It shows how the fair bounced back in 2012.
"416,613 people passed through the gates," Schaffer said.
Schaffer says the paint is waterproof and the mural would survive if there were another flood. She says she tried to paint all of the major points of the Bloomsburg Fair.
"The grandstand, the bleachers, the landmarks that are only particular to this place, the barn, the farm museum, gambling stands, lots of food stands," Schaffer added.
"Different stands throughout, and directors will be posted on there and painted. It shows the Bloomsburg Fair," said fair president Paul Reichard.
Schaffer says she started the mural last year and had some help from students at Bloomsburg Area High School.
"You take for granted that it's going to be another great fair and it was less than three years ago, right about now that things were really, really tragic."
Schaffer says she expects to have the mural finished by the start of this year's Bloomsburg Fair.
