State fair

For other uses, see State Fair (disambiguation).
The Wisconsin State Fair

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, 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, 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]

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

United States

The 2009 Tanana Valley State Fair in Fairbanks, Alaska
State or Region Fair Name Location Typical Month(s) Attendance (year) Attendance as % of State Pop.
!a !a !a -9999
!a !a !a 10000000000
Alabama Alabama State Fair Birmingham
Alabama Alabama State Fair Montgomery Montgomery
Alabama Alabama National Fair Montgomery
Alaska Kenai Peninsula State Fair Ninilchik 7,300 (2013) [6] .99%
Alaska Southeast Alaska State Fair Haines
Alaska Tanana Valley State Fair Fairbanks 12.49%
Alaska Alaska State Fair Palmer 299,698 (2015) [8] 40.68%
Arizona Arizona State Fair Phoenix 1,102,044 (2015) [9] 16.37%
Arizona Navajo Nation Fair Window Rock 100,000 (2016) [10] 57.58% (of Navajo Nation)
Arkansas Arkansas State Fair Little Rock 473,106 (2015) [11] 15.95%
California California State Fair Sacramento 673,237 (2016) [12] 1.7%
Colorado Colorado State Fair Pueblo 466,576 (2016) [13] 8.71%
Delaware Delaware State Fair Harrington 262,587 (2016) [14] 28.07%
District of Columbia DC State Fair Washington
Florida Florida State Fair Tampa 395,435 (2016) [15] 1.99%
Georgia Georgia State Fair Hampton
Georgia Georgia National Fair Perry, Georgia 535,000 (2016) [16] 5.30%
Georgia North Georgia State Fair Marietta 320,000 (2016) [17] 3.17%
Hawaii Hawaii 50th State Fair Aiea
Idaho Eastern Idaho State Fair Blackfoot 249,892 (2021) [18] 14.08%
Idaho Western Idaho Fair Boise August 243,474 (2016) [19] 14.90%
Idaho North Idaho Fair [20] Coeur d'Alene 168,567 (2022) [21] 5.18%
Illinois DuQuoin State Fair Du Quoin
Illinois Illinois State Fair Springfield 509,000 (2019) [22] 4.00%
Indiana Indiana State Fair Indianapolis 730,000 (2016) [23] 11.07%
Iowa Iowa State Fair Des Moines 1,130,260 (2018) [24] 35.93%
Kansas Kansas State Fair Hutchinson 359,808 (2016) [25] 12.39%
Kentucky Kentucky State Fair Louisville August 609,955 (2017) [26] 13.7%
Louisiana Cajun Heartland State Fair Lafayette
Louisiana Greater Baton Rouge State Fair Baton Rouge
Louisiana State Fair of Louisiana Shreveport 379,700 (2017) [27] 9.78%
Maine Bangor State Fair Bangor
Maine Skowhegan State Fair Skowhegan
Maine Fryeburg Fair Fryeburg 166,838 (2016) [28] 12.54%
Maryland Maryland State Fair Timonium 588,000 (2013) [29] 9.53%
Michigan Michigan State Fair Novi 92,000 (2014) [30] .93%
Michigan Upper Peninsula State Fair Escanaba 80,000 (2013) [31] .81%
Minnesota Minnesota State Fair Falcon Heights 2,126,551 (2019) [32] 37.90%
Mississippi Mississippi State Fair Jackson 733,151 (2016) [33] 24.49%
Missouri Missouri State Fair Sedalia August 349,048 (2023)[34]
Montana Montana State Fair Great Falls 54,938 (2015) [35] 5.37%
Montana MontanaFair Billings, Montana 226,333 (2016) [36] 22.10%
Nebraska Nebraska State Fair Grand Island 379,108 (2017)[37][38] 19.88%
Nevada Nevada State Fair Reno Closed
Nevada The Nevada Fair Carson City, Nevada 22,000 (2015) [39] .77%
New England[a] The Big E West Springfield, Massachusetts 1,629,527 (2019) [40] 10.97%[b]
New Hampshire Hopkinton State Fair Contoocook
New Jersey New Jersey State Fair Augusta 420,000 (2013) [41] 4.70%
New Mexico New Mexico State Fair Albuquerque 497,000 (2016) [42] 23.83%
New Mexico Southern New Mexico State Fair Las Cruces
New Mexico Northern Navajo Nation Fair Shiprock
New York Great New York State Fair Syracuse 1,329,275 (2019) [43] 6.8%
North Carolina North Carolina State Fair Raleigh October-November 1,028,364 (2016) [44] 10.34%
North Carolina Dixie Classic Fair Winston-Salem 357,416 (2011) 3.7%
North Carolina North Carolina Mountain State Fair Fletcher 187,819 (2007) [45] 1.89%
North Dakota North Dakota State Fair Minot July 293,123 (2016) [46] 39.64%
Ohio Ohio State Fair Columbus 921,000 (2016) [47] 7.95%
Oklahoma Oklahoma State Fair Oklahoma City 900,000 (2012) [48] 23.21%
Oklahoma Tulsa State Fair Tulsa 1,206,000 (2016 estimate) [49] 31.10%
Oregon Oregon State Fair Salem 295,000 (2016 estimate) [50] 7.43%
Pennsylvania Allentown Fair Allentown 500,000 (approx) (2014) [51] 3.91%
Pennsylvania Butler Fair Prospect 240,000 (approx) (2011) [52] 1.88%
Pennsylvania Bloomsburg Fair Bloomsburg 364,037 (2015) [53] 2.85%
Pennsylvania The Reading Fair Reading 40,000 (2016) [54] 0.3%
Pennsylvania York State Fair York 555,252 (2016) [55] 4.34%
Rhode Island Washington County Fair Richmond around 100,000 [56] 9.48%
South Carolina South Carolina State Fair Columbia 464,878 (2016) [57] 9.62%
South Dakota South Dakota State Fair Huron 211,371 (2016) [58] 24.77%
Tennessee Tennessee State Fair Lebanon August 115,000 (2015) [59] 1.76%
Tennessee Delta Fair Memphis about 200,000 (2016) [60] 3.05%
Tennessee Tennessee Valley Fair Knoxville 180,000 (approx) [61] 2.75%
Texas South Texas State Fair Beaumont 175,000 (2014) [62] .65%
Texas State Fair of Texas Dallas 2,547,289 (2022) [63] 7.24%
Texas East Texas State Fair[64] Tyler about 250,000 (estimate from 2016) [65] .93%
Texas North Texas State Fair Denton 200,000 (estimate from 2023) [66] .68%
Utah Utah State Fair Salt Lake City around 300,000 (2014) [67] 10.19%
Vermont Vermont State Fair Rutland 40,000 – 50,000 (2022) [68] 9.83%
Virginia State Fair of Virginia Caroline County 238,000 (2014) [69] 2.86%
Washington Central Washington State Fair Yakima 312,191 (2016) [70] 4.42%
Washington Evergreen State Fair Monroe 342,631 (2016) [71] 4.85%
Washington Northwest Washington Fair Lynden 189,154 (2015) [72] 2.68%
Washington Washington State Fair Puyallup 1,117,323 (2012) [73] 15.82%
West Virginia State Fair of West Virginia Fairlea 155,000-160,000 (2016) [74] 8.65%
Wisconsin Wisconsin State Fair West Allis August 1,015,815 (2016) [75] 17.64%
Wisconsin Central Wisconsin State Fair Marshfield 85,000 (2015) [76] 1.48%
Wisconsin Northern Wisconsin State Fair Chippewa Falls 90,000 (2016) [77] 1.56%
Wyoming Wyoming State Fair Douglas
Notes
  1. ^ The Eastern States Exposition, popularly known as The Big E, is a combined state fair for all six (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) New England states. Each state has its own dedicated area during the fair.
  2. ^ Percentage based on combined population for all New England states.

State fair police departments

Several state fairs maintain their own police departments, including:

Provincial exhibitions in Canada

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

Province Fair Name Location Attendance (year)
!a !a !a -9999
!a !a !a 10000000000
Alberta Calgary Stampede Calgary 1,275,465 (2019)[78]
Alberta K-Days Edmonton 702,327 (2019)[79]
British Columbia Pacific National Exhibition Vancouver 731,708 (2019)[80]
Ontario Canadian National Exhibition Toronto 1,500,000 (2019)[81]
Ontario Ottawa SuperEX (defunct) Ottawa 422,095 (2009)[82]
Ontario Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Toronto 300,000 (average per annum)[83]
Ontario Western Fair London 170,000 (2015)[84]
Manitoba Red River Exhibition Winnipeg 203,624 (2019)[85]
Manitoba Royal Manitoba Winter Fair Brandon 110,000 (2018)[86]
Saskatchewan Canadian Western Agribition Regina 121,326 (2019)[87]

Awards

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

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.[88][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.

The largest average per day attendance is at the Minnesota State Fair averaging just under 200,000 people per day.[91]

See also

References

  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 20 April 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. ^ a b "It's official: State Fair a goner". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  6. ^ "KP fair has big changes". 9 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Tanana Valley State Fair begins Friday". 3 August 2016.
  8. ^ "2015 Fair Continues Upward Trend". 24 October 2015.
  9. ^ "State Fair attendance stayed on par despite heavy rain".
  10. ^ "Navajo Nation AG Expo/4th of July PRCA Rodeo > CANCELLED". nnfair.navajo-nsn.gov.
  11. ^ "Arkansas State Fair sets new attendance record". 19 October 2015.
  12. ^ Kirk, Marjorie. "California state fair attendance drops 14 percent". The Sacramento Bee.
  13. ^ "Colorado State Fair attendance drops in 2016, but event considered a success". 7 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Home - Delaware State News | Bay to Bay News".
  15. ^ "Venuestoday.com". www.venuestoday.com.
  16. ^ "Georgia National Fair sets new attendance record". 11Alive.com. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  17. ^ "320,000 visitors attend over North Georgia State Fair's 11-day run". 5 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Eastern Idaho State Fair sets historic attendance records". East Idaho News. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  19. ^ Staff, KBOI News (2016-09-09). "Western Idaho Fair attendance up 12,000 people in 2016". KBOI. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  20. ^ "North Idaho State Fair". www.nisfair.fun.
  21. ^ "'We didn't expect to see that much in growth': North Idaho State Fair sets attendance record". krem.com. August 31, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  22. ^ "Illinois State Fair sets revenue record with Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire major draws". Chicago Tribune. 19 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Rainy weather hurts attendance at 2016 Indiana State Fair". wthr.com. August 22, 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  24. ^ "Fair Dates & Attendance".
  25. ^ "Kansas State Fair attendance in 2016 third highest ever". AP NEWS. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
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  34. ^ Shiner, Ryan (September 18, 2023). "Missouri State Fair attendance hits six-year high". KMIZ. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023.
  35. ^ "Montana State Fair numbers solid this year". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  36. ^ "Early numbers for MontanaFair attendance and sales". KULR-8 Local News. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
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  39. ^ "Nevada Fair sees second successful year in Carson City".
  40. ^ "Big e Attendance Records".
  41. ^ Moss, Linda (7 July 2013). "N.J.'s State Fair Meadowlands wraps up, beats last year's attendance". NorthJersey. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
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  43. ^ "Daily Attendance".
  44. ^ "Newsroom". ncstatefair.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016.
  45. ^ "2007 NC Mountain State Fair". ncagr.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007.
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  49. ^ "About Us". tulsastatefair.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016.
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  56. ^ "For the 50th, a full slate of favorites".
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  60. ^ "Delta Fair Attendance Down This Year". Local Memphis. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
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  63. ^ "Daily Attendance".
  64. ^ 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
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  66. ^ "Sponsors". North Texas Fair & Rodeo. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  67. ^ "Utah State Fair draws crowds, generates profits for 2014 season". Deseret News. 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
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  71. ^ "Attendance at Evergreen State Fair second-highest in 6 years". 17 September 2016.
  72. ^ Townsend, Debbie. "Attendance up at Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden". Bellingham Herald.
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