# Do All 50 States Have a State Fair? And a few other state fair Qs. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833 "2004-08-14T15:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/41 "2004-08-16T01:26:47Z")
I’ll have to correct myself, I meant to say 46. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/42 "2004-08-16T01:30:16Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > I’ll have to correct myself, I meant to say 46. Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and which other? Not that it matters, for all intents and purposes, they’re states. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/43 "2004-08-16T02:39:19Z")
[Kentucky](http://www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYCommonwealth.htm). This link also mentions a little about “commonwealth” vs. “state.” Regardless, there are still 50 states in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/44 "2004-08-16T05:32:40Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > I’ll have to correct myself, I meant to say 46. Correct yourself further and say 50. Legally, there are fifty states in the United States of America, regardless of what four of the fifty states choose to refer to themselves as. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/45 "2004-08-16T08:17:49Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > Wisconsin’s State Fair is a bit west of Milwaukee, 70ish miles from Madison. Wisconsins State Fair is held in Milwaukee County. Half of **Wisconsin State Fair Park** is located in the City of Milwaukee, the other half is in the City of West Allis. I’ll give kudos to the doper who can correctly identify what police depatment has jurisdiction & patrols the park during the fair (and every other day of the year). ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/46 "2004-08-16T08:23:05Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Correct yourself further and say 50. > > Legally, there are fifty states in the United States of America, regardless of what four of the fifty states choose to refer to themselves as. Not so fast. There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires the official name of any members of the Union be “State.” Germany is a “state” in that it is a nation and the word state is often used to refer to nations. But it isn’t a state legally because it doesn’t refer to itself as such. A nation is whatever it refers to itself legally, which is why the UK is a United Kingdom and China is a People’s Republic. Just because the noun state is used in the Constitution simply recognizes that the members of the union are “states” in that they are semiautonomous governing bodies. But in the legal sense they can be Commonwealths or Fiefdoms or whatever they want to style themselves, and it would be inappropriate to call them anything else. The Commonwealth of Virginia is legally known as such, and there isn’t much play in that. It’s a commonwealth. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/47 "2004-08-16T08:29:47Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > The Commonwealth of Virginia is legally known as such, and there isn’t much play in that. It’s a commonwealth. Communists! ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/48 "2004-08-16T12:10:33Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Missouri: In Sedalia, which is 80 miles from Jefferson City. > . Sedalia is more like 50 miles from Jeff City The legend goes that Sedalia, Columbia and Jefferson City were vying for the State Capital and the University. Colulmbia got the University; Jefferson City got the Capital; Sedalia got the State Fair as a consolation prize. Come on by sometime I can tell you the back way there; where to park, and I can show you the holes cut in the fence where the local kids get it for free (Wasn’t 15 a great age?) ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/49 "2004-08-16T12:24:11Z")
> [@tygerbryght](#): > > :eek: Gee whillikers, but you scared me! You had me thinking they’d gone and moved it since I moved out of state! {Oh, Michigan, my Michigan \} > > But they haven’t. > (from [here](http://www.michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7-125-1571_29003-10945--,00.html)) > > It’s been in Detroit for (IIRC) a century or more, or at least many decades (like, before I was born, which was during WWII). Of course, I wouldn’t call Woodward & 8 Mile in Detroit “centrally located”. It’s practically as far in the SE corner as it can get! Bureaucrats, hmmmmph!! :smack: > > The site is a large acreage (the city of Detroit has been rather frustrated in recent years that there’s that much land from which it can derive no revenues; the complaints got louder after “outstate” visitors {read=farmers & their reps} started complaining about illegal activities on the periphery. The Detroit City Council would **love** to redevelop that nice, big plot.) with a number of large, permanent buildings, which were probably built during the depression by one of FDR’s employment programs. The premises, or parts thereof, are rented out for other events throughout the year - dog shows being the “other event” with which I am most familiar. And, I can tell ya, those big barns are pretty &\*(@#$ cold during the winter! \ And that’s what color your fingers turn, when you’re showing a dog (no gloves, etc., in the ring) at a dog show in December or January! :dubious: 🙂 Where I come from that event you are talking about is refered to as the Michigan Lower Pennisula State Fair. When I was growing up in Marquette Michigan this event was refered to as the ‘State Fair’ - [Michigan Upper Pennisula State Fair](http://www.michigan.gov/printerFriendly/0,1687,7-125--12132--,00.html) So I guess it depends on your point of view. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/50 "2004-08-16T13:34:13Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Not so fast. > > There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires the official name of any members of the Union be “State.” > > …Just because the noun state is used in the Constitution simply recognizes that the members of the union are “states” in that they are semiautonomous governing bodies. But in the legal sense they can be Commonwealths or Fiefdoms or whatever they want to style themselves, and it would be inappropriate to call them anything else. > > The Commonwealth of Virginia is legally known as such, and there isn’t much play in that. It’s a commonwealth. It can also call itself the People’s Republic of Virginia, but as far as the U.S. government is concerned, Virginia is still one of the “several States” making up the United States of America. And last time I checked, federal law trumps state law. Actually, come to think about it, there might have been a little fight between Virginia and the feds about that a while back. The [U.S. Constitution](http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html) makes numerous references to the “several States which may be included within this Union,” and always refers to them as “States.” The Constitution distinguish the States from “Territory or other Property belonging to the United States,” as opposed to a that of “particular State.” As a further example, Puerto Rico also styles itself as a commonwealth, but as far as the Constitution is concerned, Puerto Rico falls into the category of “Territory or other Property belonging to the United States,” and is NOT a State, even were it to refer to itself as one. In any event, we’ve discussed this to death before: [Commonwealth vs State](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=239404) [Can Texas Still Split Into Five States?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=189495) [How many “states”?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=173391) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/51 "2004-08-16T13:59:12Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Wisconsins State Fair is held in Milwaukee County. Half of **Wisconsin State Fair Park** is located in the City of Milwaukee, the other half is in the City of West Allis. > > I’ll give kudos to the doper who can correctly identify what police depatment has jurisdiction & patrols the park during the fair (and every other day of the year). I’ll wager a guess and say Greenfield police department? My second guess would be Oak Creek? ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/52 "2004-08-16T14:19:39Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I’ll give kudos to the doper who can correctly identify what police depatment has jurisdiction & patrols the park during the fair (and every other day of the year). I believe it’s the Capital Police. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/53 "2004-08-16T23:27:23Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’ll wager a guess and say Greenfield police department? > My second guess would be Oak Creek? 😕 I never expected that answer. Neither city is anywhere near the park. > [@Algernon](#): > > I believe it’s the Capital Police. You’re right, except it’s the Capit **o** l Police. Kudos!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/54 "2004-08-17T13:02:18Z")
:smack: Damn, damn, damn. Note to self – repeat 25 times: “Capit **a** l is the _city_, capit **o** l is the _building_.” There is probably some mneumonic to remember this. One I obviously never learned. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/55 "2004-08-17T14:42:26Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > It’s interesting that when I was growing up in Altoona, PA, that Blair County never had a county fair, while the surrounding counties always did. It never dawned on me that this was because Blair was probably the most urban county in between Dauphin and Allegheny and county fairs are primarily agricultural in nature. But … urban Erie County in western New York hosts [North America’s largest county fair](http://www.americas-fair.com/) every year; in fact, it’s going on right now. It’s huge; you need at least a few days to see it all. What is it with mullet rock and state and county fairs anyhow? The Erie County Fair will be hosting Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels and Deep Purple. Is there a Manhattan County Fair or Brooklyn County Fair downstate? What about Los Angeles County, California, or Cook County, Illinois? ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/56 "2004-08-17T16:17:00Z")
> [@Algernon](#): > > :smack: > Damn, damn, damn. > > Note to self – repeat 25 times: “Capit **a** l is the _city_, capit **o** l is the _building_.” > > There is probably some mneumonic to remember this. One I obviously never learned. The capit **o** l’s the one with the d **o** me. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@Big\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_G)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/57 "2004-08-17T16:50:59Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > It’s interesting that when I was growing up in Altoona, PA, that Blair County never had a county fair, while the surrounding counties always did. It never dawned on me that this was because Blair was probably the most urban county in between Dauphin and Allegheny and county fairs are primarily agricultural in nature. > > Hey, I was a city boy! Ironically, Philadelphia County (which is entirely coincident with the City of Philadelphia) has a county fair. I imagine it’s mostly an excuse to set up rides in Fairmount Park, as there hasn’t been any agriculture in Philadelphia County beside vegetable gardens for many years. G ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/58 "2004-08-17T17:35:56Z")
> [@Keweenaw](#): > > Where I come from that event you are talking about is refered to as the Michigan Lower Pennisula State Fair. > > When I was growing up in Marquette Michigan this event was refered to as the ‘State Fair’ - [Michigan Upper Pennisula State Fair](http://www.michigan.gov/printerFriendly/0,1687,7-125--12132--,00.html) > > So I guess it depends on your point of view. I thought about putting in the link for the UP fair, and wish now I had, but you have corrected my omission. I saw it on the state fair webpage. There was no anti-UP bias intended, sorry. 🙂 My favorite cousin would have biting words to say if he thought it of me, as he lived for 15 years in Paradise (for non-Michiganders: yup, Paradise is in Michigan - and before the Yooper says it, so’s Hell. And the first is in the U.P., and the latter is in the lower peninsula. What can I say?) 😃 You snipped my critique of the webpage’s statement that the Detroit location was “central”. I would have thought people would get the idea from that. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/59 "2004-08-17T19:41:49Z")
For what it’s worth, here in Washington State, I’m not sure we actually have a so-called “official” state fair as described in the OP. Rather, we have regional fairs that vary in size and importance. For the biggest, you have to look at what is technically named the Western Washington State Fair but which locals know by the city where it’s held, Puyallup. (I could tell you how that’s pronounced, but it’s more amusing to watch outsiders trying to fit their mouths around it.) The fair’s marketing slogan is (and has been for many years) “Do the Puyallup,” and it’s far and away the largest and most significant state fair here. There’s also a Central Washington State Fair (medium-sized) and a Northwest Washington State Fair (tiny), plus a bunch of county fairs. The fair in the state capitol Olympia is called [Lakefair](http://www.lakefair.org) and is more of a carnival than an agricultural expo. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833/60 "2004-08-17T21:10:43Z")
When I travelled the circuts the California State Fair was in Sacramento, but Southern Californians usually went to the Pomona fair which is almost a large and a lot closer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-50-states-have-a-state-fair-and-a-few-other-state-fair-qs/259833.md?page=4)