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State fair

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The Wisconsin State Fair

In the United States, a state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs.

State fairs began in the nineteenth century for the purpose of promoting state agriculture, through competitive exhibitions of livestock and display of farm products. As the U.S. evolved from a predominantly agrarian to an industrial society in the twentieth century, and the more service economy of the 21st century, modern state fairs have expanded to include carnival amusement rides and games, display of industrial products, baking competitions, crafts (such as quilting and crop art), automobile racing, and entertainment such as musical concerts. Large fairs can admit more than a million visitors over the course of a week or two. The oldest state fair is that of The Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair, established in 1738, and is the oldest fair in Virginia and the United States.[1] The first U.S. state fair was the New York one, held in 1841 in Syracuse, and has been held annually since.[2] The second state fair was in Detroit, Michigan, which ran from 1849[3] to 2009.[4][5] The fair was revived in 2013 and has been held at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, ever since.

From August 22, 2025 – September 7, 2026, the Renwick Gallery exhibited State Fairs: Growing American Craft, the “first major exhibition to survey American state fairs’ extraordinary and unconventional crafts from the nineteenth century to the present.”[6] The exhibit was accompanied by a catalog by Mary Savig (ISBN 978-1-588-34800-5).

Events similar to state fairs are also held annually in each state capital in Australia, known as royal shows. Australian royal shows are organized by state agricultural and horticultural societies, and are described further in the agricultural show article.

List of state fairs

[edit]

United States

[edit]
The 2009 Tanana Valley State Fair in Fairbanks, Alaska
State or RegionFair NameLocation Typical Month(s)Attendance (year)Attendance as % of State Pop.
AlabamaAlabama State FairBirmingham
Alabama State Fair Montgomery Montgomery
Alabama National Fair
AlaskaKenai Peninsula FairNinilchik 7,300 (2013) [7].99%
Southeast Alaska State FairHaines
Tanana Valley State FairFairbanks 12.49%
Alaska State FairPalmer 299,698 (2015) [9]40.68%
ArizonaArizona State FairPhoenix 1,102,044 (2015) [10]16.37%
Navajo Nation FairWindow Rock 100,000 (2016) [11]57.58% (of Navajo Nation)
ArkansasArkansas State FairLittle Rock 473,106 (2015) [12]15.95%
CaliforniaCalifornia State FairSacramento 673,237 (2016) [13]1.7%
ColoradoColorado State FairPueblo 466,576 (2016) [14]8.71%
DelawareDelaware State FairHarrington 262,587 (2016) [15]28.07%
District of ColumbiaDC State FairWashington
FloridaFlorida State FairTampa 397,992 (2025) [16]1.70%
GeorgiaGeorgia State FairHampton
Georgia National FairPerry, Georgia 535,000 (2016) [17]5.30%
North Georgia State FairMarietta 320,000 (2016) [18]3.17%
HawaiiHawaii 50th State FairAiea
IdahoEastern Idaho State FairBlackfoot 249,892 (2021) [19]14.08%
Western Idaho FairBoise August243,474 (2016) [20]14.90%
North Idaho Fair[21]Coeur d'Alene 168,567 (2022) [22]5.18%
IllinoisDuQuoin State FairDu Quoin
Illinois State FairSpringfield 509,000 (2019) [23]4.00%
IndianaIndiana State FairIndianapolis 730,000 (2016) [24]11.07%
IowaIowa State FairDes Moines 1,130,260 (2018) [25]35.93%
KansasKansas State FairHutchinson 359,808 (2016) [26]12.39%
KentuckyKentucky State FairLouisville August609,955 (2017) [27]13.7%
LouisianaCajun Heartland State FairLafayette
Greater Baton Rouge State FairBaton Rouge
State Fair of LouisianaShreveport 379,700 (2017) [28]9.78%
MaineBangor State FairBangor
Skowhegan State FairSkowhegan
Fryeburg FairFryeburg 166,838 (2016) [29]12.54%
MarylandMaryland State FairTimonium 588,000 (2013) [30]9.53%
MichiganMichigan State FairNovi 92,000 (2014) [31].93%
Upper Peninsula State FairEscanaba 80,000 (2013) [32].81%
MinnesotaMinnesota State FairFalcon Heights 1,940,869 (2025)[33]33.29%
MississippiMississippi State FairJackson 733,151 (2016) [34]24.49%
MissouriMissouri State FairSedaliaAugust349,048 (2023)[35]
MontanaMontana State FairGreat Falls 54,938 (2015) [36]5.37%
MontanaFairBillings, Montana 226,333 (2016) [37]22.10%
NebraskaNebraska State FairGrand Island 379,108 (2017)[38][39]19.88%
NevadaThe Nevada State FairCarson City 22,000 (2015) [40].77%
New EnglandThe Big EWest Springfield, Massachusetts 1,629,527 (2019) [41]10.97%[a]
New HampshireHopkinton State FairContoocook
New JerseyNew Jersey State FairAugusta 420,000 (2013) [42]4.70%
New MexicoNew Mexico State FairAlbuquerque 497,000 (2016) [43]23.83%
Southern New Mexico State FairLas Cruces
Northern Navajo Nation FairShiprock
New YorkGreat New York State FairSyracuse 1,329,275 (2019) [44]6.8%
North CarolinaNorth Carolina State FairRaleigh October–November1,028,364 (2016) [45]10.34%
Dixie Classic Fair Winston-Salem 357,416 (2011) 3.7%
North Carolina Mountain State FairFletcher 187,819 (2007) [46]1.89%
North DakotaNorth Dakota State FairMinot July293,123 (2016) [47]39.64%
OhioOhio State FairColumbus 921,000 (2016) [48]7.95%
OklahomaOklahoma State FairOklahoma City 900,000 (2012) [49]23.21%
Tulsa State FairTulsa 1,206,000 (2016 estimate) [50]31.10%
OregonOregon State FairSalem 346,000 (2022 estimate) [51]8.16%
PennsylvaniaAllentown FairAllentown 500,000 (approx) (2014) [52]3.91%
Butler FairProspect 240,000 (approx) (2011) [53]1.88%
Bloomsburg FairBloomsburg 364,037 (2015) [54]2.85%
The Reading FairReading 40,000 (2016) [55]0.3%
York State FairYork 555,252 (2016) [56]4.34%
Rhode IslandWashington County FairRichmond around 100,000 [57]9.48%
South CarolinaSouth Carolina State FairColumbia 464,878 (2016) [58]9.62%
South DakotaSouth Dakota State FairHuron 211,371 (2016) [59]24.77%
TennesseeTennessee State FairLebanon August115,000 (2015) [60]1.76%
Delta FairMemphis about 200,000 (2016) [61]3.05%
Tennessee Valley FairKnoxville 180,000 (approx) [62]2.75%
TexasSouth Texas State FairBeaumont 175,000 (2014) [63].65%
State Fair of TexasDallas 2,020,064 (2025)[64]6.37%
East Texas State Fair[65]Tyler about 250,000 (estimate from 2016) [66].93%
North Texas State FairDenton 200,000 (estimate from 2023) [67].68%
UtahUtah State FairSalt Lake City around 300,000 (2014) [68]10.19%
VermontVermont State FairRutland 40,000 – 50,000 (2022) [69]9.83%
VirginiaState Fair of VirginiaCaroline County 238,000 (2014) [70]2.86%
WashingtonCentral Washington State FairYakima 312,191 (2016) [71]4.42%
Evergreen State FairMonroe 342,631 (2016) [72]4.85%
Northwest Washington FairLynden 189,154 (2015) [73]2.68%
Washington State FairPuyallup 1,117,323 (2012) [74]15.82%
West VirginiaState Fair of West VirginiaFairlea 155,000-160,000 (2016) [75]8.65%
WisconsinWisconsin State FairWest Allis August1,015,815 (2016) [76]17.64%
Central Wisconsin State FairMarshfield 85,000 (2015) [77]1.48%
Northern Wisconsin State FairChippewa Falls 90,000 (2016) [78]1.56%
WyomingWyoming State FairDouglas
Notes
  1. ↑ Percentage based on combined population for all New England states.

State fair police departments

[edit]

Several state fairs maintain their own police departments, including:

Provincial exhibitions in Canada

[edit]

A few annual exhibitions in the summer in Canada are similar to state fairs in the United States:

ProvinceFair NameLocationAttendance (year)
AlbertaCalgary StampedeCalgary1,275,465 (2019)[79]
AlbertaK-DaysEdmonton702,327 (2019)[80]
British ColumbiaPacific National ExhibitionVancouver731,708 (2019)[81]
OntarioCanadian National ExhibitionToronto1,500,000 (2019)[82]
OntarioOttawa SuperEX (defunct)Ottawa422,095 (2009)[83]
OntarioRoyal Agricultural Winter FairToronto300,000 (average per annum)[84]
OntarioWestern FairLondon170,000 (2015)[85]
ManitobaRed River ExhibitionWinnipeg203,624 (2019)[86]
ManitobaRoyal Manitoba Winter FairBrandon110,000 (2018)[87]
SaskatchewanCanadian Western AgribitionRegina121,326 (2019)[88]

Awards

[edit]

State and county fairs are famous for a variety of competitions that award ribbons. Awards are generally given according to the following scale:[citation needed][5]

  • First place – blue ribbon
  • Second place – red ribbon
  • Third place – white ribbon
  • Fourth place – yellow ribbon
  • Fifth place – green ribbon
  • Sixth place – orange ribbon
  • Seventh place – purple ribbon
  • Eighth place – brown ribbon

Attendance

[edit]

As of 2019, the largest attendance at a state fair in the US is in Texas with the fair having attracted 2,514,637 visitors.[64][89][90] Even though it is longer than an average state fair, any advantage is negated by the size of the physical state since those days would be required for the states citizens to have equal opportunity to attend.[citation needed]

The largest average per day attendance is at the Minnesota State Fair averaging just under 200,000 people per day.[33]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair". WFLS. December 30, 2023. Founded in 1738, Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair is the oldest fair in the United States.
  2. ↑ "New York State Fair :: The Encyclopedia of New York State :: Syracuse University Press". www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  3. ↑ "History of the Michigan State Fair". www.michigan.gov. Archived from the original on November 25, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Granholm cuts State Fair from budget". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "It's official: State Fair a goner". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  6. ↑ "State Fairs: Growing American Craft | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  7. ↑ "KP fair has big changes". June 9, 2014.
  8. "Tanana Valley State Fair begins Friday". August 3, 2016.
  9. ↑ "2015 Fair Continues Upward Trend". October 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ "State Fair attendance stayed on par despite heavy rain".
  11. ↑ "Navajo Nation AG Expo/4th of July PRCA Rodeo > CANCELLED". nnfair.navajo-nsn.gov.
  12. ↑ "Arkansas State Fair sets new attendance record". October 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ Kirk, Marjorie. "California state fair attendance drops 14 percent". The Sacramento Bee.
  14. ↑ "Colorado State Fair attendance drops in 2016, but event considered a success". September 7, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Home - Delaware State News | Bay to Bay News".
  16. ↑ "Florida State Fair's urgency grows as ag industry battles obstacles". Business Observer. February 20, 2026. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Georgia National Fair sets new attendance record". 11Alive.com. October 18, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  18. ↑ "320,000 visitors attend over North Georgia State Fair's 11-day run". October 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Eastern Idaho State Fair sets historic attendance records". East Idaho News. September 16, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  20. ↑ Staff, KBOI News (September 9, 2016). "Western Idaho Fair attendance up 12,000 people in 2016". KBOI. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  21. ↑ "North Idaho State Fair". www.nisfair.fun.
  22. ↑ "'We didn't expect to see that much in growth': North Idaho State Fair sets attendance record". krem.com. August 31, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Illinois State Fair sets revenue record with Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire major draws". Chicago Tribune. September 19, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Rainy weather hurts attendance at 2016 Indiana State Fair". wthr.com. August 22, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Fair Dates & Attendance".
  26. ↑ "Kansas State Fair attendance in 2016 third highest ever". AP NEWS. October 24, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  27. ↑ Tribble Greer, Carolyn (August 31, 2017). "It was a good year for the Kentucky State Fair". Louisville Business First. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Weather Affects Attendance at State Fair of Louisiana".
  29. ↑ "Fair attendance up over last year". October 10, 2016.
  30. ↑ Patrick (September 19, 2022). "2022 Maryland State Fair sets records with move to three weekends". Morning Ag Clips. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Michigan State Fair attendance up 15%".
  32. ↑ "Upper Peninsula State Fair, Escanaba Michigan".
  33. 1 2 "Attendance". Minnesota State Fair. June 9, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Mississippi State Fair sets attendance record".
  35. ↑ Shiner, Ryan (September 18, 2023). "Missouri State Fair attendance hits six-year high". KMIZ. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Montana State Fair numbers solid this year". The Washington Times. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Early numbers for MontanaFair attendance and sales". KULR-8 Local News. August 22, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  38. ↑ Rollin, Kelli (September 5, 2017). "State Fair 2017 attendance nears all-time record". The Grand Island Independent. BH Media Group, Inc. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Nebraska State Fair Sets a New Attendance Record (Press Release)" (PDF).
  40. ↑ "Nevada Fair sees second successful year in Carson City".
  41. ↑ "Big e Attendance Records".
  42. ↑ Moss, Linda (July 7, 2013). "N.J.'s State Fair Meadowlands wraps up, beats last year's attendance". NorthJersey. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  43. ↑ "New Mexico State Fair attendance increased 8-percent". KRQE News 13. September 29, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Daily Attendance". The Great New York State Fair.
  45. ↑ "Newsroom". ncstatefair.org. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016.
  46. ↑ "2007 NC Mountain State Fair". ncagr.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007.
  47. ↑ "Attendance numbers released for ND State Fair". July 31, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Ohio State Fair Attendance Just Short of a Record". August 8, 2016.
  49. ↑ "Carnivalwarehouse.com's 2012 Top 50 Fairs" (PDF). carnivalwarehouse.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 2, 2013.
  50. ↑ "About Us". tulsastatefair.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016.
  51. ↑ "2022 Oregon State Fair Capitalized on Pent-up Demand" (PDF).
  52. ↑ "About Us". Allentown Fairgrounds. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014.
  53. ↑ "The Big Butler Fair | Always Over the Fourth". The Big Butler Fair.
  54. ↑ "Fair Attendance". thebloomsburgfair.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2017.
  55. ↑ "5 Door and Window Replacement in Berks County, PA". thereadingfair.
  56. ↑ "How many people attended the 2016 York Fair?".
  57. ↑ "For the 50th, a full slate of favorites".
  58. ↑ "2016 Fair Closes with Banner Attendance". South Carolina State Fair. October 24, 2016. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  59. ↑ "South Dakota State Fair Attendance Up Slightly Over 2015". KDLT News. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  60. ↑ "State fair continues to build attendance from past years". Columbia Daily Herald. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  61. ↑ "Delta Fair Attendance Down This Year". Local Memphis. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  62. ↑ "Tennessee Valley Fair". www.tnvalleyfair.org.
  63. ↑ Crum, Brooke (April 7, 2014). "South Texas State Fair attendance up 10,000 from last year". Beaumont Enterprise.
  64. 1 2 "Daily Attendance". State Fair of Texas. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  65. ↑ Waterson, James and Seymour, Rachel Anne. Pulling Up Stakes: East Texas State Fair Says Goodbye Until Next Year. Tyler Morning Telegraph, October 4th, 2010, p. 1A, 6A
  66. ↑ "East Texas State Fair".
  67. ↑ "Sponsors". North Texas Fair & Rodeo. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  68. ↑ "Utah State Fair draws crowds, generates profits for 2014 season". Deseret News. October 15, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  69. ↑ Polly (August 24, 2022). "State fair sets new attendance record". The Mountain Times. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  70. ↑ "Storms muddy State Fair of Virginia's traffic, revenue". October 6, 2015.
  71. ↑ "Final weekend pushes state fair attendance over 312,000". KHQ. October 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  72. ↑ "Attendance at Evergreen State Fair second-highest in 6 years". September 17, 2016.
  73. ↑ Townsend, Debbie. "Attendance up at Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden". Bellingham Herald.
  74. ↑ "Puyallup Fair attendance tops 1.1 million, beats last year". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013.
  75. ↑ Davis, Austin (August 25, 2016). "A look back at the 2016 State Fair". WWVA. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  76. ↑ Shafer, Dan (August 16, 2016). "Wisconsin State Fair attendance tops 1 million". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  77. ↑ "Central Wisconsin State Fair sets record".
  78. ↑ "Nearly 90K people attended the Northern Wisconsin State Fair". wqow.com. July 18, 2016. Archived from the original on August 5, 2018.
  79. ↑ "Second highest attendance record set at Calgary Stampede". CTV News Calgary. BellMedia. July 15, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  80. ↑ Ramsay, Caley (July 29, 2019). "Weather to blame for lowest K-Days attendance since 2006, Northlands says". Global News. Corus Entertainment. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  81. ↑ "2019 Pacific National Exhibition Annual Report: April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2020" (PDF). www.pne.ca. Pacific National Exhibition. 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  82. ↑ Draaisma, Muriel. "Ex attendance rises to an estimated 1.5 million this year, CNE officials say". www.cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
  83. ↑ "SuperEx attendance higher than last year". ctvottawa.ca. Bell Media. August 31, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  84. ↑ Rider, David (November 1, 2018). "Locked out workers to picket Royal Winter Fair". Toronto Star. Torstar Corporation. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  85. ↑ Daniszewski, Hank. "Western Fair blessed with fair weather but attendance figures under wraps". www.lfpress.com.
  86. ↑ Thompson, Sam (June 24, 2019). "Red River Ex sees uptick in 2019 attendance". Global News. Corus Entertainment. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  87. ↑ "Winter Fair Attracts More Than 100,000 Visitors But Registers Attendance Drop". Discover Westman. Golden West Broadcasting. April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  88. ↑ Vorrieter, Karlee (2019). "Jump in international buyers, inaugural maple leaf finals rodeo and record-setting registration at Agribition 2019". Industry West. IW Media Group.
  89. ↑ "State Fair of Texas Welcomed More Than 2.5 Million Fairgoers in 2019". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. October 21, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  90. ↑ "How Much It Costs To Visit the 10 Biggest State Fairs in the US". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
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