The Delaware State Fair is the 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 ...

for the state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

. It is held in

Harrington Harrington (or Harington) may refer to: People as a surname * Harrington (surname) People as a forename * Arthur Raikes (Arthur Edward Harington Raikes, 1867–1915), British army officer *Charles Harrington Elster, American writer *Edward Josep ...

. The fair is a ten-day event at the end of July.

History

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. In 1878, the Delaware State Fair was moved to

Fairview Park Fair Grounds Fairview Park Fair Grounds was a baseball field located in Dover, Delaware. It was also known as Dover Grounds. It was used by the Philadelphia Athletics for one game on June 24, 1875. Philadelphia defeated the New Haven Elm Citys The Elm City baseb ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

and held September 24–27. The opening speaker of the 1878 Delaware State Fair was

Daniel Henry Chamberlain Daniel Henry Chamberlain (June 23, 1835April 13, 1907) was an American planter, lawyer, author and the 76th Governor of South Carolina from 1874 until 1876 or 1877. The federal government withdrew troops from the state and ended Reconstructio ...

, former Republican

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the '' ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making ye ...

, as well as guest speakers J. Proctor Knott, at the time a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

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. 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. The Association went bankrupt after the 1924 fair, and its assets were sold off. A new fair association was formed and held the Wilmington Fair, which was sometimes referred to as the Delaware State Fair, in 1927 and 1928 at the fairgrounds in Elsmere. The first fair on the current grounds was held in 1920 and was known as the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Sussex County Fair. It lasted four days and was held on . The Kent and Sussex County Fair changed its name to the Delaware State Fair in 1962. Today the fairgrounds encompass over and feature concerts, wrestling, rodeo, races, agricultural exhibits, a midway, and other typical state fair demonstrations and events. The

Harrington Raceway & Casino Harrington Raceway & Casino is a harness racing track and casino (a " racino") located on the fairgrounds of the Delaware State Fair, just south of Harrington, Delaware, south of Dover. The casino, formerly known as Midway Slots, has over 1,800 ...

is also located at the fairgrounds. The property also hosted a

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

rally for his presidential campaign on April 22, 2016. The only cancellations were from 1942 to 1945 due to

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Despite 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 identified ...

in 2020, the fair resisted cancellation, although safety modifications were put in place and concerts were cancelled. Masks have been required ever since, besides

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...

Concerts

The Delaware State Fair has long been a center for regional entertainment, drawing in crowds from the rest of the state,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. It is one of few local concert venues, so has been able to attract many popular acts to Delmarva, among them:

Casino

operates on the fairgrounds year round and consists of a harness racetrack and a casino offering slot machines, table games, and sports betting.

Winter Season

During the winter season the

Centre Ice Rink The Centre Ice Arena, also called The Centre, is a 700-seat, 49,000 square-foot facility built in 2002. It is located on the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware. The facility holds an ice rink and hosts ice hockey, figure skating an ...

located on the fair grounds hosts public skating and

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

sessions.

References

External links

Official SiteDelaware State Fair Blog
{{coord, 38.910, -75.574, region:US-DE_type:landmark, display=title Harrington, Delaware State fairs July events Tourist attractions in Kent County, Delaware Festivals established in 1919