State fair

A state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. 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.

Originally a state fair was just a competitive exhibition of livestock in various competitions, the display of farm products which were not necessarily for sale, and the competition among various fair goers and participants in such categories as handicrafts, baked goods, jams and jellies, etc., but has since been expanded to include carnival amusement rides and games, music, races, tests of strength and skill, etc. Large fairs can see more than a million visitors over the course of a week or two. The first official U.S. state fair was in Detroit, Michigan in 1849.[1]

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.

Contents

List of state fairs

United States

State or Region Fair Name Location Attendance (year)
!a !a !a -9999
!a !a !a 10000000000
Alabama Alabama State Fair Pelham
Alabama Alabama National Fair Montgomery
Alaska Alaska State Fair Palmer
Alaska Kenai Peninsula State Fair Ninilchik
Alaska Tanana Valley State Fair Fairbanks
Alaska Southeast Alaska State Fair Haines
Arizona Arizona State Fair Phoenix 1,303,690 (2006) [1]
Arizona Navajo Nation Fair Window Rock
Arkansas Arkansas State Fair Little Rock 467,007 (2008) [2]
California California State Fair Sacramento 941,502 (2006) [3]
Colorado Colorado State Fair Pueblo 400,351 (2006) [4]
Connecticut Connecticut Agricultural Fair (defunct) Goshen
Delaware Delaware State Fair Harrington 307,000 (2007) [5]
District of Columbia DC State Fair Washington
Florida Florida State Fair Tampa 434,067 (2006) [6]
Georgia Georgia National Fair Perry
Georgia North Georgia State Fair Marietta
Hawaii Hawaii 50th State Fair Aiea
Idaho Eastern Idaho State Fair Blackfoot
Idaho Western Idaho Fair Boise
Illinois DuQuoin State Fair DuQuoin
Illinois Illinois State Fair Springfield 700,000 (2006) [7]
Indiana Indiana State Fair Indianapolis 975,000 (2009) [8]
Iowa Iowa State Fair Des Moines 1,109,150 (2008) [9]
Kansas Kansas State Fair Hutchinson
Kentucky Kentucky State Fair Louisville 614,477 (2006) [10]
Louisiana Cajun Heartland State Fair Lafayette
Louisiana State Fair of Louisiana Shreveport
Louisiana Greater Baton Rouge State Fair Baton Rouge
Maine Bangor State Fair Bangor
Maryland Maryland State Fair Timonium
Michigan Michigan State Fair (defunct)[2][3][4] Detroit
Michigan Upper Peninsula State Fair Escanaba
Minnesota Minnesota State Fair Falcon Heights 1,776,211 (2010) [11]
Mississippi Mississippi State Fair Jackson
Missouri Missouri State Fair Sedalia 340,000 (2005) [12]
Montana Montana State Fair Great Falls
Nebraska Nebraska State Fair Grand Island 289,683 (2006) [13]
Nevada Nevada State Fair Reno
New England The Big E West Springfield 1,260,487 (2009)[5]
New Hampshire Hopkinton State Fair Contoocook
New Jersey New Jersey State Fair Augusta
New Mexico New Mexico State Fair Albuquerque 738,664 (2006) [14]
New Mexico Southern New Mexico State Fair Las Cruces
New Mexico Northern Navajo Nation Fair Shiprock
New York Great New York State Fair Syracuse 1,102,995 (2006) [15]
North Carolina North Carolina State Fair Raleigh 1,091,887 (2010) [16]
North Carolina North Carolina Mountain State Fair Fletcher, North Carolina 187,819 (2007) [17]
North Dakota North Dakota State Fair Minot 247,970 (2006) [18]
Ohio Ohio State Fair Columbus 814,512 (2006) [19]
Oklahoma Oklahoma State Fair Oklahoma City 1,000,000 (approx) [20]
Oklahoma Tulsa State Fair Tulsa 915,000 (2008) [21]
Oregon Oregon State Fair Salem
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Farm Show Harrisburg 500,000 (approx) (2008) [22]
South Carolina South Carolina State Fair Columbia 492,395 (2010) [23]
South Dakota South Dakota State Fair Huron
Tennessee Tennessee State Fair Nashville
Tennessee Mid-South Fair Memphis
Tennessee Tennessee Valley Fair Knoxville, Tennessee 180,000 (approx) [24]
Texas South Texas State Fair Beaumont
Texas State Fair of Texas Dallas 3,000,000 (approx) (2003) [25]
Texas East Texas State Fair[6] Tyler
Texas North Texas State Fair Denton 140,000 (2009)[26]
Utah Utah State Fair Salt Lake City 325,000 [27]
Vermont Vermont State Fair Rutland
Virginia State Fair of Virginia Caroline County 226,924 in 2010 [28]
Washington Central Washington State Fair Yakima
Washington Evergreen State Fair Monroe
Washington Puyallup Fair Puyallup
Washington Northwest Washington Fair Lynden 214,315 in 2009 [29]
West Virginia State Fair of West Virginia Fairlea
Wisconsin Wisconsin State Fair Milwaukee 861,408 (2006) [30]
Wisconsin Central Wisconsin State Fair Marshfield
Wisconsin Northern Wisconsin State Fair Chippewa Falls 90,000 (2001) [31]
Wyoming Wyoming State Fair Douglas

Awards

State and county fairs are famous for a variety of competitions. Awards are generally given according to the following scale

Attendance

The largest attendance at a State Fair in the USA is in Texas attracting an estimated 3,000,000 people annually. The largest average per day attendance is at the Minnesota State Fair averaging over 150,000 people per day.

See also

References

  1. ^ Michigan.gov
  2. ^ Granholm cuts State Fair from budget
  3. ^ It's official: State Fair a goner
  4. ^ Michiganians struggle with loss of state fair
  5. ^ Thebige.com
  6. ^ 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