There is nothing like a State Fair!  They scream summer, food, and fun. They also showcase the biggest, best, and brightest of the counties from around your state.  We thought we’d focus on the fun taking place throughout the United States with a spotlight on some fair facts and give you a list of all of the State Fairs so you don’t miss them while you are wandering this time of year!

 

 

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State Fair Fun Facts

The First: The first state fair was held in 1841 in Syracuse, New York. It was a two-day affair at the end of September attended by somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 people

The Biggest: Everything really is bigger in Texas—including the state fair. The State Fair of Texas has 3.5 million annual visitors, the highest attendance of any state fair in the United States

The Longest: Texas holds this honor as well.  This year the fair runs from September 27 – October 20, 2019.  Hmmm, no wonder they have the largest attendance!

Which came first the fair or the state?: The first Alaska “State” Fair was held in 1936, 23 years before Alaska gained official statehood in 1959

Size doesn’t matter!: Texas may have the best-attended state fair, but the Minnesota State Fair is nothing to sneeze at. Recently, the fair set a new attendance record of 1.9 million visitors. That’s more than one third of the state’s population. The Texas fair attendance, in comparison, is only 12.5 percent of the total number of Texans

No Fair!:  There are two states that do not have an official “State” fair but rather welcome thier guests to the county fairs around the state.  Those two states are Pennsylvania and Rhode Island

Elvis has left the building: Sometimes it pays to check out the local talent when you go to the fair. Legend has it that Elvis sang in the youth talent show at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair, and not only did he not win, he actually came in fifth place. But the King was only 10 at the time, so he still had a lot of room for improvement

Food on a stick: The Minnesota State Fair is known for its culinary opulence, and in 2014, a woman ate one of every single food on a stick at the fair. When she tallied it all up, she’d eaten 93 different things to raise awareness for the Make-a-Wish Foundation

Cream Puff mania: You might think of cheese when you think of Wisconsin, but the most popular food at the Wisconsin State Fair is hands down the cream puffs. Over 350,000 of them are sold every year

Half a million and counting: Every year, visitors at the Minnesota State Fair eat 500,000 corndogs. This seems like a lot, but it’s actually only one corndog per seven visitors

February?: Florida is the only state that doesn’t have thier State Fair in the traditional summer, early fall months.  The summers can bet a bit blustery in the Sunshine State so they hold their festivities in February.  Next up – February 6 – 17, 2020!

 

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Find Your Fair

Alabama National Fair
October 4 – 14, 2019

Alaska State Fair
August 22 – September 2, 2019

Arkansas State Fair
October 11 – 20, 2019

Arizona State Fair
October 4 – 27, 2019. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

California State Fair
July 12 – July 28, 2019

Colorado State Fair
August 23 – September 2, 2019

Connecticut Fairs
Multiple Dates

Delaware State Fair
July 18 – 27, 2019

Florida State Fair
February 6 – 17, 2020

Georgia National Fair
October 3 – 13, 2019

Hawaii State Fair
Weekends of: May 26-29, June 2-4,
June 9-11, June 16-18 & June 23-25

Idaho State Fair
August 16 – 25, 2019

Illinois State Fair
August 8 – 18, 2019

Indiana State Fair
August 2 – 18, 2019

Iowa State Fair
August 8 – 18, 2019

Kansas State Fair
September 6 – 15, 2019

Kentucky State Fair
August 15 – 25, 2019

Louisiana State Fair
October 24 – November 3, 2019

Maine State Fair
August 8 – 17, 2019 Skohegan
July 25 – August 3, 2019 Bangor

Maryland State Fair
August 22 – September 2, 2019

Massachusetts State Fair
September 13 – 29, 2019

Michigan State Fair (Upper Peninsula)
August 12 – 18, 2019

Minnesota State Fair
August 22 – September 2, 2019

Mississippi State Fair
October 2 – 14, 2019

Missouri State Fair
August 8 – 18, 2019

Montana State Fair
July 26 – August 3, 2019

Nebraska State Fair
August 23 – September 2, 2019

Nevada State Fair
June 6-9, 2019

New Hampshire State Fair
August 30 – September 2, 2019

New Jersey State Fair
August 2 – 11, 2019

New Mexico State Fair
September 5 – 15, 2019

New York State Fair
August 21 – September 2, 2019

North Carolina State Fair
October 17 – 27, 2019

North Dakota State Fair
July 19 – 27, 2019

Ohio State Fair
July 24 – August 4, 2019

Oklahoma State Fair
September 12 – 22, 2019

Oregon State Fair
August 23 – September 2, 2019

Pennsylvania Fairs
Multiple Dates & Locations, 2019

South Carolina State Fair
October 9 – 20, 2019

South Dakota State Fair
August 29 – September 3, 2019

Tennessee State Fair
September 6 – 15, 2019

Texas State Fair
September 27 – October 20, 2019

Utah State Fair
September 5 – 15, 2019

Vermont State Fair
August 13 – 17, 2019

Virginia State Fair
September 27 – October 6, 2019

Washington State Fair
August 30 – September 22, 2019 (closed Tuesdays and September 4)

West Virginia State Fair
August 8 – 17, 2019

Wisconsin State Fair
August 1 – 11, 2019

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