The Ringgold Band at Oley Fair
September 19, 2026 · 12:00 PM · Oley Valley Community Fair, 26 Jefferson St
About the event
The Ringgold Band brings a full afternoon of concert band music to the Oley Valley Community Fair. The Reading based group is one of America's first community bands, and since its formation in 1852 it has been providing southeastern Pennsylvania with musical entertainment. Its programs draw on familiar classics, symphonic overtures, show tunes, marches, and newer works.
The band's roots run deep in Berks County. It became the regimental band of the Civil War era Ringgold Light Artillery of Reading, and longtime leader Monroe A. Althouse became known as Reading's "March King" for the marches he wrote to mark occasions and organizations across the county, with the band still opening each concert with an Althouse march in his honor.
Plan to make a day of it. The fair centers on friendly competition among neighbors showing produce, local products and farm animals, and it is known for French fries, hamburgers and Pennsylvania Dutch cooking prepared and served by area churches and their congregations. Bring a chair, settle in for the music, and wander the grounds afterward.
