ALLENTOWN, Pa. — After a night during which temperatures dropped to 30 degrees, the sun arose at 7:11 a.m. Friday over Allentown Fairgrounds, telling Andrea Mathias of Bethlehem she was nearing the end of her quest.
By then, Mathias had waited nearly eight hours to be the first in line when Allentown Fair opened its box office for ticket sales to its first four grandstand shows this year: 1970s and '80s rockers Heart with Cheap Trick, country music superstar Brad Paisley, top a cappella group Pentatonix and record-breaking ventriloquist Jeff Dunham.
Mathias would have to wait nearly three hours more before the box office opened, but she said it was worth it.
"It's the first time that the sisters are touring together in 15 years," Mathias said of Heart. She said she's been a fan since 1977, by the time it released its second album, "Magazine."
Mathias waited by far the longest for tickets Friday, but by the time they went on sale at 10 a.m., 141 people were in line, bundled in winter coats and many with umbrellas.
Fair Marketing and Entertainment Director Jessica Ciecwisz said by noon, "We don't see an end, still."
Ciecwisz said it was unusual to have four grandstand shows go on sale at the same time, which no doubt contributed to the large turnout of buyers.
"It's doing well. We're happy with it."Fair Marketing and Entertainment Director Jessica Ciecwisz
She said the fair, as it did last year, was prepared to put three shows together when the Heart-Cheap Trick tour decided to put tickets on sale the same day.
"It's doing well," she said. "We're happy with it."
Ciecwisz noted that one attraction to buying concert tickets at the fair box office is that it charges less ticket fees than an online sale does.
'We had so much fun'
Mathias said she didn't much mind the bad weather. Bundled up with a coat and blankets, seated in a lawn chair, she said she escaped the hard rain — and sleet, she said — by staying under the overhead roof at the box office.
After all, Mathias said, she has a history of waiting for tickets — frequently at the fair and for Elton John's show kicking off his 2018 farewell tour at Allentown's PPL Center. There, she said, a policeman mistook her for a homeless person.
She said she has waited in line for tickets starting in the 1970s. "Back in the day, we had so much fun," she said.
"It was cold, damp. I was hoping someone would come that I could talk to."Andrea Mathias
The difference on Friday, Mathias said, was that, years ago — before online ticket sales — concert lines would always have people who shared the enthusiasm.
"It was cold, damp," Mathias said, describing Friday's wait. "I was hoping someone would come that I could talk to."
The next person to arrive in the line Friday was Donny Moyer, who lives across the street from the box office and showed up at 4:30 a.m. on behalf of his sister, JoAnn Kresley of Walnutport.
"He couldn't sleep, so he came here," Kresley said. By 7:30 a.m., Kresley said she showed up with her husband, Rich.
Dunham, Heart tickets popular
The Kresleys were in line for tickets to Dunham — which may seem surprising, except that Dunham has sold more tickets at Allentown Fair than any other comedy artist in his six grandstand appearances.
In 2009, he sold out one show at the 10,500-seated-capacity grandstand and almost sold out a second show the same year.
"We saw him at PPL Center and just loved him," JoAnn Kresley said. "We saw what the ticket prices were [$59 and $69 at the fair], and said we had to get tickets."
Several others who waited the longest Friday also were getting Durham tickets.
"Last year we were at the fair every day."Nancy Martin of Allentown
Tammy Fair (her real name) of Allentown arrived with her son-in-law, Anthony Chavez of Allentown, at 7:32 a.m. She said it will be her third time seeing Dunham.
The fair's Ciecwisz said that Heart and Dunham, indeed, seemed to be doing the best in early sales, but "they're all kind of holding their own, honestly."
But Heart seemed the most popular. Donna Hibshman of Allentown also arrived at 7:30 a.m. for Heart tickets.
Nancy Martin of Allentown, who said she lives four blocks away, showed up with friend Judy Stein at 7 a.m. — Stein was getting Dunham tickets. Martin was getting Heart tickets.
"We never saw him in person, just on TV," she said. Martin was there mostly for Heart, but also for Dunham.
"Last year we were at the fair every day," Martin said.
As it turns out, Mathias said her long wait "was worth it" — she got first-row center seats for Heart, and also ended up buying tickets to Pentatonix for her and her daughter.
Rich Kresley said he and his wife got two tickets in the front row for Dunham. Asked whether he was pleased, he said, "Yeah, yeah. Yup."
The 172nd Great Allentown Fair is scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 2.
Tickets to all the shows remain available at Ticketmaster.com. Special box office hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 8. All show tickets include admission to the fair.
