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 first U.S. state fair was that of New York, held in 1841 in Syracuse, and has been held annually to the present year.[1] The second state fair was in Detroit, Michigan, which ran from 1849[2] to 2009.[3][4]

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 RegionFair NameLocationAttendance (year)Attendance as % of State Pop.
AlabamaAlabama State FairBirmingham
Alabama Alabama State Fair Montgomery Montgomery
AlabamaAlabama National FairMontgomery
AlaskaKenai Peninsula State FairNinilchik7,300 (2013) [5].99%
AlaskaSoutheast Alaska State FairHaines
AlaskaTanana Valley State FairFairbanks12.49%
AlaskaAlaska State FairPalmer299,698 (2015) [7]40.68%
ArizonaArizona State FairPhoenix1,102,044 (2015) [8]16.37%
ArizonaNavajo Nation FairWindow Rock100,000 (2016) [9]57.58% (of Navajo Nation)
ArkansasArkansas State FairLittle Rock473,106 (2015) [10]15.95%
CaliforniaCalifornia State FairSacramento673,237 (2016) [11]1.7%
ColoradoColorado State FairPueblo466,576 (2016) [12]8.71%
DelawareDelaware State FairHarrington262,587 (2016) [13]28.07%
District of ColumbiaDC State FairWashington
FloridaFlorida State FairTampa395,435 (2016) [14]1.99%
GeorgiaGeorgia State FairHampton
GeorgiaGeorgia National FairPerry, Georgia535,000 (2016) [15]5.30%
GeorgiaNorth Georgia State FairMarietta320,000 (2016) [16]3.17%
HawaiiHawaii 50th State FairAiea
IdahoEastern Idaho State FairBlackfoot249,892 (2021) [17]14.08%
IdahoWestern Idaho FairBoise243,474 (2016) [18]14.90%
IdahoNorth Idaho Fair [19]Coeur d'Alene168,567 (2022) [20]5.18%
IllinoisDuQuoin State FairDu Quoin
IllinoisIllinois State FairSpringfield509,000 (2019) [21]4.00%
IndianaIndiana State FairIndianapolis730,000 (2016) [22]11.07%
IowaIowa State FairDes Moines1,130,260 (2018) [23]35.93%
KansasKansas State FairHutchinson359,808 (2016) [24]12.39%
KentuckyKentucky State FairLouisville609,955 (2017) [25]13.7%
LouisianaCajun Heartland State FairLafayette
LouisianaGreater Baton Rouge State FairBaton Rouge
LouisianaState Fair of LouisianaShreveport379,700 (2017) [26]9.78%
MaineBangor State FairBangor
MaineSkowhegan State FairSkowhegan
MaineFryeburg FairFryeburg166,838 (2016) [27]12.54%
MarylandMaryland State FairTimonium588,000 (2013) [28]9.53%
MichiganMichigan State FairNovi92,000 (2014) [29].93%
MichiganUpper Peninsula State FairEscanaba80,000 (2013) [30].81%
MinnesotaMinnesota State FairFalcon Heights2,126,551 (2019) [31]37.90%
MississippiMississippi State FairJackson733,151 (2016) [32]24.49%
MissouriMissouri State FairSedalia366,218 (2013) [33]6.04%
MontanaMontana State FairGreat Falls54,938 (2015) [34]5.37%
MontanaMontanaFairBillings, Montana226,333 (2016) [35]22.10%
NebraskaNebraska State FairGrand Island379,108 (2017)[36][37]19.88%
NevadaNevada State FairRenoClosed
NevadaThe Nevada FairCarson City, Nevada22,000 (2015) [38].77%
New England[lower-alpha 1]The Big EWest Springfield, Massachusetts1,629,527 (2019) [39]10.97%[lower-alpha 2]
New HampshireHopkinton State FairContoocook
New JerseyNew Jersey State FairAugusta420,000 (2013) [40]4.70%
New MexicoNew Mexico State FairAlbuquerque497,000 (2016) [41]23.83%
New MexicoSouthern New Mexico State FairLas Cruces
New MexicoNorthern Navajo Nation FairShiprock
New YorkGreat New York State FairSyracuse1,329,275 (2019) [42]6.8%
North CarolinaNorth Carolina State FairRaleigh1,028,364 (2016) [43]10.34%
North Carolina Dixie Classic Fair Winston-Salem 357,416 (2011) 3.7%
North CarolinaNorth Carolina Mountain State FairFletcher187,819 (2007) [44]1.89%
North DakotaNorth Dakota State FairMinot293,123 (2016) [45]39.64%
OhioOhio State FairColumbus921,000 (2016) [46]7.95%
OklahomaOklahoma State FairOklahoma City900,000 (2012) [47]23.21%
OklahomaTulsa State FairTulsa1,206,000 (2016 estimate) [48]31.10%
OregonOregon State FairSalem295,000 (2016 estimate) [49]7.43%
PennsylvaniaAllentown FairAllentown500,000 (approx) (2014) [50]3.91%
PennsylvaniaButler FairProspect240,000 (approx) (2011) [51]1.88%
PennsylvaniaBloomsburg FairBloomsburg364,037 (2015) [52]2.85%
PennsylvaniaThe Reading FairReading40,000 (2016) [53]0.3%
PennsylvaniaYork State FairYork555,252 (2016) [54]4.34%
Rhode IslandWashington County FairRichmondaround 100,000 [55]9.48%
South CarolinaSouth Carolina State FairColumbia464,878 (2016) [56]9.62%
South DakotaSouth Dakota State FairHuron211,371 (2016) [57]24.77%
TennesseeTennessee State FairNashville115,000 (2015) [58]1.76%
TennesseeDelta FairMemphisabout 200,000 (2016) [59]3.05%
TennesseeTennessee Valley FairKnoxville180,000 (approx) [60]2.75%
TexasSouth Texas State FairBeaumont175,000 (2014) [61].65%
TexasState Fair of TexasDallas2,547,289 (2022) [62]7.24%
TexasEast Texas State Fair[63]Tylerabout 250,000 (estimate from 2016) [64].93%
TexasNorth Texas State FairDenton200,000 (estimate from 2023) [65].68%
UtahUtah State FairSalt Lake Cityaround 300,000 (2014) [66]10.19%
VermontVermont State FairRutland40,000 – 50,000 (2022) [67]9.83%
VirginiaState Fair of VirginiaCaroline County238,000 (2014) [68]2.86%
WashingtonCentral Washington State FairYakima312,191 (2016) [69]4.42%
WashingtonEvergreen State FairMonroe342,631 (2016) [70]4.85%
WashingtonNorthwest Washington FairLynden189,154 (2015) [71]2.68%
WashingtonWashington State FairPuyallup1,117,323 (2012) [72]15.82%
West VirginiaState Fair of West VirginiaFairlea155,000-160,000 (2016) [73]8.65%
WisconsinWisconsin State FairWest Allis1,015,815 (2016) [74]17.64%
WisconsinCentral Wisconsin State FairMarshfield85,000 (2015) [75]1.48%
WisconsinNorthern Wisconsin State FairChippewa Falls90,000 (2016) [76]1.56%
WyomingWyoming State FairDouglas
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:

ProvinceFair NameLocationAttendance (year)
AlbertaCalgary StampedeCalgary1,275,465 (2019)[77]
AlbertaK-DaysEdmonton702,327 (2019)[78]
British ColumbiaPacific National ExhibitionVancouver731,708 (2019)[79]
OntarioCanadian National ExhibitionToronto1,500,000 (2019)[80]
OntarioOttawa SuperEXOttawa422,095 (2009)[81]
OntarioRoyal Agricultural Winter FairToronto300,000 (average per annum)[82]
OntarioWestern FairLondon170,000 (2015)[83]
ManitobaRed River ExhibitionWinnipeg203,624 (2019)[84]
ManitobaRoyal Manitoba Winter FairBrandon110,000 (2018)[85]
SaskatchewanCanadian Western AgribitionRegina121,326 (2019)[86]

Awards

State and county fairs are famous for a variety of competitions that award ribbons. Awards are generally given according to the following scale:[4]

  • 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.[87][88][89] Though it is longer than an average state fair, ergo, it has an advantage.

The largest average per day attendance is at the Minnesota State Fair averaging just under 200,000 people per day.[90]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New York State Fair :: The Encyclopedia of New York State :: Syracuse University Press". www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "History of the Michigan State Fair". www.michigan.gov. Archived from the original on November 25, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Granholm cuts State Fair from budget". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "It's official: State Fair a goner". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  5. ↑ "KP fair has big changes". 9 June 2014.
  6. "Tanana Valley State Fair begins Friday". 3 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "2015 Fair Continues Upward Trend". 24 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "State Fair attendance stayed on par despite heavy rain".
  9. ↑ "Navajo Nation AG Expo/4th of July PRCA Rodeo > CANCELLED". nnfair.navajo-nsn.gov.
  10. ↑ "Arkansas State Fair sets new attendance record". 19 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Kirk, Marjorie. "California state fair attendance drops 14 percent". The Sacramento Bee.
  12. ↑ "Colorado State Fair attendance drops in 2016, but event considered a success". 7 September 2016.
  13. ↑ "Home - Delaware State News | Bay to Bay News".
  14. ↑ "Venuestoday.com". www.venuestoday.com.
  15. ↑ "Georgia National Fair sets new attendance record". 11Alive.com. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  16. ↑ "320,000 visitors attend over North Georgia State Fair's 11-day run". 5 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Eastern Idaho State Fair sets historic attendance records". East Idaho News. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  18. ↑ Staff, KBOI News (2016-09-09). "Western Idaho Fair attendance up 12,000 people in 2016". KBOI. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  19. ↑ "North Idaho State Fair". www.nisfair.fun.
  20. ↑ "'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.
  21. ↑ "Illinois State Fair sets revenue record with Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire major draws". Chicago Tribune. 19 September 2019.
  22. ↑ "Rainy weather hurts attendance at 2016 Indiana State Fair". wthr.com. August 22, 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  23. ↑ "Fair Dates & Attendance".
  24. ↑ "Kansas State Fair attendance in 2016 third highest ever". AP NEWS. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  25. ↑ Tribble Greer, Carolyn (August 31, 2017). "It was a good year for the Kentucky State Fair". Louisville Business First. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Weather Affects Attendance at State Fair of Louisiana".
  27. ↑ "Fair attendance up over last year". 10 October 2016.
  28. ↑ Patrick (2022-09-19). "2022 Maryland State Fair sets records with move to three weekends". Morning Ag Clips. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  29. ↑ "Michigan State Fair attendance up 15%".
  30. ↑ "Upper Peninsula State Fair, Escanaba Michigan".
  31. ↑ "Minnesota State Fair - Attendance". www.mnstatefair.org. 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  32. ↑ "Mississippi State Fair sets attendance record".
  33. ↑ "October 28, 2013 Press Release | Missouri State Fair". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  34. ↑ "Montana State Fair numbers solid this year". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  35. ↑ "Early numbers for MontanaFair attendance and sales". KULR-8 Local News. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  36. ↑ Rollin, Kelli (5 September 2017). "State Fair 2017 attendance nears all-time record". The Grand Island Independent. BH Media Group, Inc. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  37. ↑ "Nebraska State Fair Sets a New Attendance Record (Press Release)" (PDF).
  38. ↑ "Nevada Fair sees second successful year in Carson City".
  39. ↑ "Big e Attendance Records".
  40. ↑ 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.
  41. ↑ "New Mexico State Fair attendance increased 8-percent". 29 September 2016.
  42. ↑ "Daily Attendance".
  43. ↑ "Newsroom". ncstatefair.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016.
  44. ↑ "2007 NC Mountain State Fair". ncagr.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007.
  45. ↑ "Attendance numbers released for ND State Fair". 31 July 2016.
  46. ↑ "Ohio State Fair Attendance Just Short of a Record". 8 August 2016.
  47. ↑ "Carnivalwarehouse.com's 2012 Top 50 Fairs" (PDF). carnivalwarehouse.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2013.
  48. ↑ "About Us". tulsastatefair.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016.
  49. ↑ "Oregon State Fair reports increase in attendance, revenue".
  50. ↑ "About Us". Allentown Fairgrounds. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014.
  51. ↑ "The Big Butler Fair | Always Over the Fourth". The Big Butler Fair.
  52. ↑ "Fair Attendance". thebloomsburgfair.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017.
  53. ↑ "5 Door and Window Replacement in Berks County, PA". thereadingfair.
  54. ↑ "How many people attended the 2016 York Fair?".
  55. ↑ "For the 50th, a full slate of favorites".
  56. ↑ "2016 Fair Closes with Banner Attendance". South Carolina State Fair. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
  57. ↑ "South Dakota State Fair Attendance Up Slightly Over 2015". KDLT News. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
  58. ↑ "State fair continues to build attendance from past years". Columbia Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
  59. ↑ "Delta Fair Attendance Down This Year". Local Memphis. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
  60. ↑ "Tennessee Valley Fair". www.tnvalleyfair.org.
  61. ↑ "South Texas State Fair attendance up 10,000 from last year". 7 April 2014.
  62. ↑ "Daily Attendance".
  63. ↑ 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
  64. ↑ "East Texas State Fair".
  65. ↑ "Sponsors". North Texas Fair & Rodeo. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  66. ↑ "Utah State Fair draws crowds, generates profits for 2014 season". Deseret News. 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  67. ↑ "State fair sets new attendance record". The Mountain Times. 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  68. ↑ "Storms muddy State Fair of Virginia's traffic, revenue". 6 October 2015.
  69. ↑ "Final weekend pushes state fair attendance over 312,000". KHQ. 3 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
  70. ↑ "Attendance at Evergreen State Fair second-highest in 6 years". 17 September 2016.
  71. ↑ Townsend, Debbie. "Attendance up at Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden". Bellingham Herald.
  72. ↑ "Puyallup Fair attendance tops 1.1 million, beats last year". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013.
  73. ↑ Davis, Austin (25 August 2016). "A look back at the 2016 State Fair". WWVA. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
  74. ↑ Shafer, Dan (16 August 2016). "Wisconsin State Fair attendance tops 1 million". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  75. ↑ "Central Wisconsin State Fair sets record".
  76. ↑ "Nearly 90K people attended the Northern Wisconsin State Fair". wqow.com. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018.
  77. ↑ "Second highest attendance record set at Calgary Stampede". CTV News Calgary. BellMedia. July 15, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  78. ↑ 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.
  79. ↑ "2019 Pacific National Exhibition Annual Report: April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2020" (PDF). www.pne.ca. Pacific National Exhibition. 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  80. ↑ Draaisma, Muriel. "Ex attendance rises to an estimated 1.5 million this year, CNE officials say". www.cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
  81. ↑ "SuperEx attendance higher than last year". ctvottawa.ca. Bell Media. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  82. ↑ Rider, David (November 1, 2018). "Locked out workers to picket Royal Winter Fair". Toronto Star. Torstar Corporation. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  83. ↑ Daniszewski, Hank. "Western Fair blessed with fair weather but attendance figures under wraps". www.lfpress.com.
  84. ↑ Thompson, Sam (June 24, 2019). "Red River Ex sees uptick in 2019 attendance". Global News. Corus Entertainment. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  85. ↑ "Winter Fair Attracts More Than 100,000 Visitors But Registers Attendance Drop". Discover Westman. Golden West Broadcasting. April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  86. ↑ Vorrieter, Karlee (2019). "Jump in international buyers, inaugural maple leaf finals rodeo and record-setting registration at Agribition 2019". Industry West. IW Media Group.
  87. ↑ "Daily Attendance". State Fair of Texas. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  88. ↑ "State Fair of Texas Welcomed More Than 2.5 Million Fairgoers in 2019". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  89. ↑ "How Much It Costs To Visit the 10 Biggest State Fairs in the US". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  90. ↑ "Attendance". 9 June 2016.
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