State fair

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File:2023 Wisconsin State Fair 04 (SpinCity).jpg

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first U.S. state fair was the New York, held in 1841 in Syracuse, and has been held annually since.<ref name=su>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The second state fair was in Detroit, Michigan, which ran from 1849<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to 2009.<ref name="freep.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="It's official: State Fair a goner">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fair was revived in 2013 and has been held at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan ever since.

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

File:Tanana Valley State Fair midway.jpg

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 Fair	Ninilchik		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || .99%
Alaska	Southeast Alaska State Fair	Haines
Alaska	Tanana Valley State Fair	Fairbanks		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> | || 12.49%
Alaska	Alaska State Fair	Palmer		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 40.68%
Arizona	Arizona State Fair	Phoenix		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 16.37%
Arizona	Navajo Nation Fair	Window Rock		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 57.58% (of Navajo Nation)
Arkansas	Arkansas State Fair	Little Rock		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 15.95%
California	California State Fair	Sacramento		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 1.7%
Colorado	Colorado State Fair	Pueblo		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 8.71%
Delaware	Delaware State Fair	Harrington		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 28.07%
District of Columbia	DC State Fair	Washington
Florida	Florida State Fair	Tampa		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 1.99%
Georgia	Georgia State Fair	Hampton
Georgia	Georgia National Fair	Perry, Georgia		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 5.30%
Georgia	North Georgia State Fair	Marietta		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 3.17%
Hawaii	Hawaii 50th State Fair	Aiea
Idaho	Eastern Idaho State Fair	Blackfoot		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 14.08%
Idaho	Western Idaho Fair	Boise	August	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 14.90%
Idaho	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || Coeur d'Alene		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 5.18%
Illinois	DuQuoin State Fair	Du Quoin
Illinois	Illinois State Fair	Springfield		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 4.00%
Indiana	Indiana State Fair	Indianapolis		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 11.07%
Iowa	Iowa State Fair	Des Moines		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 35.93%
Kansas	Kansas State Fair	Hutchinson		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 12.39%
Kentucky	Kentucky State Fair	Louisville	August	609,955 (2017) <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	13.7%
Louisiana	Cajun Heartland State Fair	Lafayette
Louisiana	Greater Baton Rouge State Fair	Baton Rouge
Louisiana	State Fair of Louisiana	Shreveport		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 9.78%
Maine	Bangor State Fair	Bangor
Maine	Skowhegan State Fair	Skowhegan
Maine	Fryeburg Fair	Fryeburg		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 12.54%
Maryland	Maryland State Fair	Timonium		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 9.53%
Michigan	Michigan State Fair	Novi		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || .93%
Michigan	Upper Peninsula State Fair	Escanaba		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || .81%
Minnesota	Minnesota State Fair	Falcon Heights		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 37.90%
Mississippi	Mississippi State Fair	Jackson		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 24.49%
Missouri	Missouri State Fair	Sedalia	August	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> ||
Montana	Montana State Fair	Great Falls		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 5.37%
Montana	MontanaFair	Billings, Montana		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 22.10%
Nebraska	Nebraska State Fair	Grand Island		379,108 (2017)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 19.88%
Nevada	Nevada State Fair	Reno		Closed
Nevada	The Nevada Fair	Carson City, Nevada		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || .77%
New EnglandTemplate:Efn	The Big E	West Springfield, Massachusetts		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 10.97%Template:Efn
New Hampshire	Hopkinton State Fair	Contoocook
New Jersey	New Jersey State Fair	Augusta		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 4.70%
New Mexico	New Mexico State Fair	Albuquerque		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 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		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 6.8%
North Carolina	North Carolina State Fair	Raleigh	October-November	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 10.34%
North Carolina	Dixie Classic Fair	Winston-Salem		357,416 (2011)	3.7%
North Carolina	North Carolina Mountain State Fair	Fletcher		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 1.89%
North Dakota	North Dakota State Fair	Minot	July	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 39.64%
Ohio	Ohio State Fair	Columbus		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 7.95%
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Fair	Oklahoma City		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 23.21%
Oklahoma	Tulsa State Fair	Tulsa		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 31.10%
Oregon	Oregon State Fair	Salem		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 7.43%
Pennsylvania	Allentown Fair	Allentown		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 3.91%
Pennsylvania	Butler Fair	Prospect		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 1.88%
Pennsylvania	Bloomsburg Fair	Bloomsburg		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 2.85%
Pennsylvania	The Reading Fair	Reading		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 0.3%
Pennsylvania	York State Fair	York		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 4.34%
Rhode Island	Washington County Fair	Richmond		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 9.48%
South Carolina	South Carolina State Fair	Columbia		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 9.62%
South Dakota	South Dakota State Fair	Huron		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 24.77%
Tennessee	Tennessee State Fair	Lebanon	August	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 1.76%
Tennessee	Delta Fair	Memphis		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 3.05%
Tennessee	Tennessee Valley Fair	Knoxville		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 2.75%
Texas	South Texas State Fair	Beaumont		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || .65%
Texas	State Fair of Texas	Dallas		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 7.24%
Texas	East Texas State Fair<ref>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</ref>	Tyler		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || .93%
Texas	North Texas State Fair	Denton		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| .68%
Utah	Utah State Fair	Salt Lake City		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 10.19%
Vermont	Vermont State Fair	Rutland		40,000Template:Dash50,000 (2022) <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 9.83%
Virginia	State Fair of Virginia	Caroline County		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 2.86%
Washington	Central Washington State Fair	Yakima		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 4.42%
Washington	Evergreen State Fair	Monroe		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 4.85%
Washington	Northwest Washington Fair	Lynden		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 2.68%
Washington	Washington State Fair	Puyallup		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 15.82%
West Virginia	State Fair of West Virginia	Fairlea		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 8.65%
Wisconsin	Wisconsin State Fair	West Allis	August	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 17.64%
Wisconsin	Central Wisconsin State Fair	Marshfield		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || 1.48%
Wisconsin	Northern Wisconsin State Fair	Chippewa Falls		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| 1.56%
Wyoming	Wyoming State Fair	Douglas

Notes

State fair police departments

Several state fairs maintain their own police departments, including:

• California Exposition and State Fair Police
• Iowa State Fair Police
• Minnesota State Fair Police Department
• Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department

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	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Alberta	K-Days	Edmonton	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
British Columbia	Pacific National Exhibition	Vancouver	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ontario	Canadian National Exhibition	Toronto	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ontario	Ottawa SuperEX (defunct)	Ottawa	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ontario	Royal Agricultural Winter Fair	Toronto	300,000 (average per annum)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ontario	Western Fair	London	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Manitoba	Red River Exhibition	Winnipeg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Manitoba	Royal Manitoba Winter Fair	Brandon	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Saskatchewan	Canadian Western Agribition	Regina	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Awards

State and county fairs are famous for a variety of competitions that award ribbons. Awards are generally given according to the following scale:Template:Citation needed<ref name="It's official: State Fair a goner" />

• 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Agricultural show
• Rodeo
• Trade fair
• World's fair