Is the state fair a big deal where you live?

Question

I'm from Minnesota, the MN state fair is a spectacle. It dominates newspapers like the Olympics do now. People drive from all over the state just for over priced food, terrible rides, and enough free rulers and pencils to educate most of Africa. Is it like this any where else. I live about 5 minutes from neighboring Wisconsin and I've never even HEARD of a Wisconsin state fair.

Answer 1

Im from Arizona and I don't think our state fair is as big as a spectacle as other states. It receives a modest amount of coverage from our local news and I know that a lot of schools go on field trips to visit the fair. The news will do a few special segments on certain exhibits but I dont think the people here eagerly anticipate it- its more like "oh, the fair is here...hmm wonder if we should go buy a few tickets for the rides while we wait for this concert to start"

It used to be different when our state used to be much more reliant on agriculture and animal husbandry as the source of our economy but as it has shifted to technology, housing, and brought in other people the state fair has loss its importance.