The State Fair of Virginia is a

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 annually at the end of September at The

Meadow Event Park The Meadow Event Park (also called "The Meadow") is an event center in Doswell, Virginia. It was first called the Meadow Stables. The park hosts the annual State Fair of Virginia. On March 14, 2013, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation bought th ...

in Doswell,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Through 2008, the fair was held at the Richmond Raceway Complex, located in eastern

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

, just outside the capital city of Richmond. It is owned by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. The Fair has offered rides, carnival games, concerts, and typical fair foods such as cotton candy and funnel cakes as well as Virginia's favorites barbecue chicken and peanuts. The Fair has also offered technological, agricultural, historical, and livestock exhibitions and competitions, including pig races. Several of the competitions offered scholarships to students that competed. Entertainment includes log-rolling, snake handling, magicians, pig races, chain sawing, and stilt-walking. Vendors sell clothing, belt buckles, and other items with novelty designs The expositions have included: "Virginia World" which highlighted Virginia agricultural products, the better living center which hosted the arts & craft competition displays, the technology expo which highlighted Virginia technology industry, and "Young McDonald's Farm" which displayed a variety of young animals for the urban visitor to see. Additionally, one section of the Fair has included a "Heritage Village" which displayed Native American, African American, and Euro-American history in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Rides

There is a special section of the park with rides for children ages 4-5. Those ages 6-12 have all the options of the 4-5 year olds, plus the merry go round and the airplane rider which goes around in a circle at slow speed. All individuals 12 and up have access to all the rides as long as they are 61 inches or above.

History

The Fair moved to its new location in 2009 at the Meadow Event Park in Caroline County. This multi-use space of includes a exposition hall, a multi-purpose pavilion, a horse-stall barn with 143 stalls, and an equine facility with four show rings, to accommodate local and regional horse shows and other equine events. The Meadow Event Park is on the site of Meadow Farm, the

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse farm owned by

Christopher Chenery Christopher Chenery (September 16, 1886 – January 3, 1973) was an American engineer, businessman, and the owner/breeder of record for Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat. Early life and career Christopher ...

that was the breeding home of back-to-back

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

greats

Riva Ridge Riva Ridge (April 13, 1969 – April 21, 1985) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1972. Often remembered simply as a stablemate of Secretariat, Riva Ridge was a successful racehorse in his own rig ...

and

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

, the winners of five of the six Triple Crown races in 1972 and 1973. No fair was held in 1861–64, 1917–18, 1942–45 & 2020.

Farm Bureau Purchase

In March 2012, the fair's parent company filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, putting the fair on hold for the first time in its history. Reasons for the non-profit's bankruptcy included the high costs for converting Meadow Farm into Meadow Event Park. All events that the company ran were cancelled, except for the horse race at Colonial Downs. On May 22, 2012, Universal Fairs, based in suburban Memphis, purchased the assets of State Fair of Virginia in bankruptcy court. In July 2012, the Virginia

Farm Bureau The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), also known as Farm Bureau Insurance and Farm Bureau Inc. but more commonly just the Farm Bureau (FB), is a United States-based insurance company and lobbying group that represents the American agr ...

Federation purchased an ownership interest and partnered with Universal Fairs, who plan to continue the fair. The Farm Bureau bought the remaining shares in 2013. Virginia State Fair Sold To Virginia Farm Bureau Federation
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References

External links

State Fair VA.orgMeadow Event Park.com
{{Virginia History of Virginia

Virginia culture Festivals established in 1854 1854 establishments in Virginia

Rides

History

Farm Bureau Purchase

References

Further reading

External links