Delaware State Fair

Delaware State Fair
Genre Fair
Begins July 19, 2018
Ends July 28, 2018
Frequency Annually
Location(s) Harrington, Delaware
Years active 1919-present
Inaugurated July 27, 1920
Most recent July 20, 2017 - July 29, 2017
Area Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland
Website
delawarestatefair.com

The Delaware State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of Delaware. It is held in Harrington. The fair is a ten-day event at the end of July.[1]

History

The midway of the Delaware State Fair in 2012

The first Delaware State Fair was held in Wilmington, with mentions of the "Delaware State Fair" being found in newspapers as far back as 1869.[2] In 1878, the Delaware State Fair was moved to Fairview Park Fair Grounds in Dover and held September 24-27.[3] The opening speaker of the 1878 Delaware State Fair was Daniel Henry Chamberlain, former Republican Governor of South Carolina, as well as guest speakers J. Proctor Knott, at the time a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing Kentucky's 4th congressional district, and Samuel S. Cox, then Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing New York's 6th congressional district. [4] [5]

In 1917, the state fair moved to Elsmere where the Delaware State Fair Association had purchased property and built a fairgrounds within the town limits, in the area of the current Filbert, Birch, and Dover Avenues. The fairgrounds included racetracks, agricultural exhibits, and stages for various entertainment acts.[6]

The first fair on the current grounds was held in 1920 and was known as the Kent and Sussex County Fair. It lasted four days and was held on 30 acres (120,000 m2). Today the fairgrounds encompass over 300 acres (1.2 km2) and feature concerts, wrestling, rodeo, races, agricultural exhibits, slot machines, a midway, and other typical stair fair demonstrations and events. The property also hosted a Donald Trump presidential rally in April 2016.

Concerts

The Delaware State Fair has long been a center for regional entertainment, drawing in crowds from the rest of the state, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. It is one of few local concert venues, so has been able to attract many popular acts to Delmarva, among them:

Casino

Harrington Raceway & Casino operates on the fairgrounds year round.

Winter Season

During the winter season the Centre Ice Rink located on the fair grounds hosts public skating and Ice hockey sessions.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Delaware State Fair". Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Seventeenth Annual Exhibition of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society". The Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Septemeber 29, 1869. Retrieved 2017-07-30. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ↑ "Eastern Shore Jottings". The Times. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. July 17, 1878. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  4. ↑ "untitled". The Times. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. August 2, 1878. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  5. ↑ "Delaware State Fair". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. August 6, 1878. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  6. ↑ "Town History and Photos". The Town of Elsmere, Delaware. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Centre Ice Rink". Skate at the Fair. Archived from the original on 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
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Coordinates: 38°54′36″N 75°34′26″W / 38.910°N 75.574°W / 38.910; -75.574


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