The Kentucky State Fair is the official

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 th ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

which takes place at the

Kentucky Exposition Center The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with of indoor ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. More than 600,000 fairgoers fill the of indoor and outdoor exhibits; activities include sampling a wide variety of food and riding several roller coasters during the 11-day event. The Kentucky State Fair includes competitions in crafts such as quilt-making, homebrew beers, and home-made

pastries Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...

, as well as

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

and

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

competitions. Exhibitor spaces are available and are popular with area and regional businesses. The Kentucky State Fair boasts of indoor space that often feature exhibits that include health screenings, gravity-defying acrobats, magical illusionists, balloon sculptors and home improvement demonstrations. The

Kentucky State Fair World's Championship Horse Show The World's Championship Horse Show, held at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville, Kentucky, in Freedom Hall, is a large horse show that includes the American Saddlebred, Hackney pony, Dutch Harness Horse, and Standardbred breeds. It is ...

is one of the fair's most prestigious events, where attendees and horses travel from various continents. More than 2,000 elite saddlebreds compete in the World's Championship Horse Show for more than 1.2 million in premiums and awards. The fair was organized in 1816, just five years after the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

' first fair in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Fayette County farmer Colonel Lewis Sanders (no known relation to Colonel Harlan Sanders of

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

fame) was the organizer. The event did not become an official state fair until 1902. The fair moved from city to city until 1907, when Louisville became the fair's permanent home.

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

has hosted the fair on three occasions, particularly during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The fair moved to its current site at the Kentucky Exposition Center in 1956. There were cancellations in 1862 to 1864, 1917 to 1918, and 1942 to 1944. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused officials to present the 2020 fair in modified fashion.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Events in Louisville, Kentucky Recurring events established in 1816 State fairs August events 1816 establishments in Kentucky Organizations based in Louisville, Kentucky

See also

References

External links