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 t ...

for the U.S. state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. It is held in Harrington. 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 in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast 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 southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

and held September 24–27. The opening speaker of the 1878 Delaware State Fair was Daniel Henry Chamberlain, 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 year ...

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

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

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 New York's 6th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City, located entirely within Queens. It is represented by Democrat Grace Meng. A plurality of the district's popul ...

. 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

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 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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

rally for his

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Despite the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2020, the fair resisted cancellation, although safety modifications were put in place and concerts were cancelled. Masks were required up until recent years, and as of 2024, are no longer required to enter the fair.

Concerts

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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. It is one of only a few local concert venues, so it has been able to attract many popular acts to

Delmarva The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia. The peninsula is l ...

, among them:

Casino

Harrington Raceway & 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 located on the fair grounds hosts public skating and

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

sessions. In January 2025, it was announced by the Fair that the Centre would close as an ice rink due to rising maintenance costs.

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 Tourist attractions in Kent County, Delaware Festivals established in 1919