The New Mexico State Fair is an annual

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 ...

held in September at Expo New Mexico (formerly the New Mexico State Fairgrounds) in the city of

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

U.S.A. 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 territori ...

The event features concerts, competitions, rodeos, carnival rides, games, farm animals, horses, agriculture, art of the American Southwest,

New Mexican cuisine New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. The region is primarily known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican cuisine originating in Nuevo México. This cuisi ...

, and

New Mexico music New Mexico music ( es, música nuevo mexicana) is a genre of music that originated in the US state of New Mexico, it derives from Pueblo music in the 13th century, and with the folk music of Hispanos during the 16th to 19th centuries in Santa F ...

. The

Tingley Coliseum Tingley Coliseum is an 11,571-seat multi-purpose arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Originally built as a rodeo and horse show auditorium, it is located at 300 San Pedro Drive N.E. It was home to the Albuquerque Six-Guns and New Mexico Scorpions ...

is on the fairgrounds.

History

The fair was first held in October 1881 under the direction of Elias S. Stover. Originally referred to as the Territorial Fair, it became a State Fair in 1911 in anticipation of New Mexico's upcoming statehood. The original fairgrounds, also known as Traction Park, were southwest of Old Town Plaza and were promoted as a year-round destination by the Albuquerque streetcar company in order to boost ridership on their line. In 1917, the fair was canceled and replaced with a "great patriotic demonstration" marking the recent U.S. entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Subsequently, the State Fair was not held for several years. The fair was reinstated in 1938 at its current location on Central Avenue in the International District. The new fairgrounds were built in 1936–38 with

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

funding which was secured in part due to the efforts of Governor Clyde Tingley. Leon Harms, formerly the founder of the Marion County Fair in Kansas, laid out the grounds and managed the fair from its inception until 1958. The first State Fair in 1938 attracted about 64,000 visitors. By the 1960s, attendance had grown to over 500,000 annually and the grounds included "83 structures of varying sizes". The fair was originally held in October, but was moved up to mid-September in 1960 in hopes of having better weather.

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 opposing ...

interrupted the fair from 1942 to 1944, and it resumed in 1945, when it was uninterrupted for the next 75 years until 2020. In 2020, the fair had to be cancelled due to the on-going

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 identi ...

. In August of 2021, the Governor's office announced the state fair would require proof of vaccination for attendance, with some exceptions for religious or medical reasons. The 2020 State Fair was canceled due to the ongoing

. When it reopened in 2021 it saw record low attendance, due to a heavy-handed restrictions. In 2022, attendance was back up to normal due to a state restrictions being lifted.

Grounds

The New Mexico State Fairgrounds are located in eastern Albuquerque between Central Avenue, Lomas Boulevard, San Pedro Drive, and Louisiana Boulevard, and cover approximately . The facilities have been branded as "Expo New Mexico" since 2003. The original adobe fair buildings were built by the

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

between 1936 and the early 1940s. Surviving buildings from this period include the Agricultural Building, Fine Arts Building, Horse Barn, and Cattle Barn. The Agricultural Building was listed on the

New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties The New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties is a register of historic and prehistoric properties located in the state of New Mexico. It is maintained by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultura ...

in 1988.

, an 11,800-seat indoor arena, opened in 1957. Expo New Mexico is the site of New Mexico's Merci Train boxcar, which was a gift from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1949. The boxcars were filled with gifts and distributed to each of the 48 U.S. states at the time, along with a 49th car which was shared by

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Security and law enforcement are handled by

New Mexico State Police New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

, Albuquerque Police, and

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo Co ...

, along with private security guards.

References

External links

New Mexico State Fair official websiteThe New Mexico State Fair at VirtualAlbuquerque.com
State fairs New Mexico culture September events Tourist attractions in Albuquerque, New Mexico Festivals in New Mexico {{NewMexico-stub