The 97th annual West End Fair opened Sunday afternoon and got off to a great start with quarter midget racing in the main arena, followed by the Cartesion Dance Academy in the bandshell and the opening ceremony and queen coronation on the main stage.

During the opening ceremony, Brian Costenbader, secretary of the fair’s board of directors, announced the theme for this year’s fair — “Farm, Families, Fairs and Fun.”

Board member Julie Weiss highlighted some of the upcoming events this week, including music performances by Elvis tribute artist Jeff Krick Jr. and the Spinout Band, as well as the Cramer Brothers Band, the Brian Dean Moore Band and the Steel Creek Band, to name a few.

There will also be agriculture contests, such as the PeeWee Cow Contest, the rodeo on Saturday, and the Costume Livestock Show where children and their animals both dress up in costumes, Weiss said.

Other events include dog training demos, wood carving demos, Farmer for a Day, antique tractors and Barnyard Express.

After being crowned during the opening ceremony, new fair queen Katarina Frantz offered a few words of thank you to family and friends “and to the volunteers who show up even when they aren’t asked to do it.”

In addition to events, the fair is full of food, craft and game vendors, as well as plenty of rides.

Dava Paul, owner of Vic’s Vittles in Tamaqua, said she has been coming out to the fair for five years now.

“I like the crowd. This is one of my favorite fairs,” she said. And business is pretty brisk.

“This is my best fair, besides Knoebels Covered Bridge (Festival),” she said.

Paul had on hand about 22 different varieties of dog treats that she makes. A former candy maker, Paul decided to try something new and switched to dog treats, naming the business after her boxer, Vic.

Brenda Snyder of Tamaqua brought her business, Storage Solutions By Snyder, to the fair for many years, then took some time off to raise a family. This is her second year back.

“It’s a lovely fair and the people are really nice,” she said.

Although her product isn’t something people can take home in a bag, she said she finds that people come back to her throughout the year when they are ready for that shed, pergola or gazebo.

Sandy Anglemeyer of Brodheadsville has been bringing her business, Dutch Valley Confectioners, to the fair for 27 years.

“This is fantastic. This is one of the best fairs in Pennsylvania,” she said. “And we’ve done a lot of them, so we know.”

Anglemeyer sells nuts covered in a sweet crunchy shell of sugar and vanilla. She also has fried pineapple and fried strawberries, which are new this year.

“We’ve been mobbed all day,” she said.