The State Fair Meadowlands (formerly the Meadowlands Fair) is a carnival held every summer at the

Meadowlands Sports Complex The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). The complex currently con ...

in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The fair is held in the parking lot that surrounds the

MetLife Stadium MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. Opened in 2010 to replace Giants Stadium, it serves as the home for the New York Giants a ...

and runs for two weeks in late June and early July. It attracts over 300,000 visitors per year, peaking at around 400,000 people in 2022. Despite its name, it is not the official state fair of New Jersey; instead, that honor belongs to the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show, which earned the state fair moniker in 1999. Instead, the name for the Meadowlands event is a title sponsorship; State Fair Superstore, a large seasonal merchandise seller in

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population wa ...

, operates the carnival. There were cancellations in 1942–45 for

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 ...

and 2020 for 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 identi ...

List of attractions

Family/Kiddie Rides

* Bumble Bee * Construction Zone * Merry-Go-Round * Double-Decker Carousel *

Elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

s * Family Swinger * Fire Chief * Frog Hopper * Speedway * Go Gator * Happy Swing * Jalopy Junction * Jet Ski/Waverunner * Jungle of Fun * Mini Bumper Boats * Mini Himalaya * Mini-Indy * Monkey Mayhem *

Motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s * Quadrunners * Rainbow Rock * Red Baron * Rockin' Tug * Safari Train * Tomb of Doom * VW Cars * Wacky Worm

Thrill Rides

* Banzai * Bumper Cars * Cliffhanger * Crazy Mouse * Crazy Outback * Cuckoo Fun House * Darton Slide * Disko * Enterprise * Fireball *

Giant Wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...

* Gravitron * Haunted House Dark Ride * Haunted Mansion Dark Ride * Heavy Haulin’ Inflate * Himalaya * Magic Maze * Mardi Gras Glasshouse * Musik Express * Raiders Funhouse * Ring of Fire * Rock & Roll Funhouse * Rock 'n Roll * Scooter * Sizzler * Sky Ride * Skyflyer * Space Roller * Spongebob Funhouse * Storybookland – Peter Pan's Palace * Super Slide *

Tilt-A-Whirl Tilt-A-Whirl is a flat ride similar to the Waltzer in Europe, designed for commercial use at amusement parks, fairs, and carnivals, in which it is commonly found. The rides are manufactured by Larson International of Plainview, Texas. Des ...

* Tornado 3 * Wave Swinger * Zyklon

Other attractions

Other than the rides, there are free shows and events at the fair such as racing

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s, a

petting zoo A petting zoo (also called a children's zoo, children's farm, or petting farm) features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, many genera ...

, a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

, a magic show, etc. The fair also displays fireworks on select nights.

Incidents

At around 11:30 PM on June 22, 2017, which was the opening night for the 2017 season of the fair, gunshots were fired on the fairgrounds. Guests ran away from the area where the shots were being fired off. No one was shot or injured. Shots fired at State Fair Meadowlands in East Rutherford, ABC 7 New York
Accessed June 23, 2017.

References

External links

State Fair Meadowlands SiteNew Jersey State Fair Site
Tourist attractions in Bergen County, New Jersey Buildings and structures in Bergen County, New Jersey State fairs June events July events Festivals established in 1921 {{US-festival-stub