LOUISVILLE, Ky. — “Summer Summed Up” is the theme of the 119th Kentucky State Fair, which will be held Aug. 17-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

 “With the theme our goal is give attendees that summer concentrate kind of feel,” said Ian Cox, Executive Director of Communications with Kentucky Venues. “The state fair is a central component of the summer season and for many, who have to go back to school in August, the fair sums up what summer is all about. All of summer will be in one place for fairgoers to experience rich family entertainment, thrilling rides, enticing entries and see livestock and animals that everyone’s come to know and love. There will be 12 performance locations, we’ll have tents full of a variety of family entertainment, as well as many Kentucky Proud products.”

The Texas Roadhouse Concert Series returns for a fifth year. More than 20 acts take the stage ranging from the Oak Ridge Boys to Foghat “and everything in between,” Cox said.

New this year will be a Beerfest taking place Aug. 19. More than 20 Kentucky craft breweries will participate. “One will get to taste Commonwealth-made craft beer from one location,” Cox said.

A returning feature is AgLAND. More than an acre of agriculture exhibits will be showcased in the South Wing A highlighting Kentucky’s farm and field heritage, including the future of farming and agribusiness through 4-H and FFA exhibits.

This year 4-H’ers will compete in such categories as geology, knitting and crocheting, forestry, electronics, foods, horticulture, woodworking, entomology, clothing, home environment, technology, consumer science management, photography and country hams.

The 145 FFA chapters across the state will be represented, showcasing their entries that include tobacco, hay, corn, floral arrangements, mechanics and woodworking.

Perhaps the most prestigious events at this fair are the horse shows, headlined by the World’s Championship Horse Show. This event boasts the top saddlebred competitors from around the world and includes more than 2,000 horses competing for more than $1.5 million in awards. Also included is the 4-H Horse Show, featuring hunters, saddleseat (trotting), walking, mountain, Western and miniature events.

Fairgoers won’t want to miss Main Street Kentucky, where they will see exhibits and creative displays with hands-on activities that represent the cultural heritage and diversity of the Commonwealth. Attendees of all ages will enjoy exhibits focusing on education, government, the environment and the arts.

Want to participate rather than observe? Then enter the Kentucky State Fair Talent Classic, which showcases the incredible skills of 13 to 21-year-olds who have already competed in sanctioned preliminary contests across the Commonwealth.

The Kentucky State Fair is one of the oldest fairs celebrated in the United States. Its beginning can be traced back to 1816 when Colonel Lewis Sanders of Fayette County, Kentucky (no known relation to Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame) organized the first fair in the Commonwealth.

 

The fair became official in 1902 after being mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly the previous year. It was held at the famed Churchill Downs initially, then rotated throughout various communities until finding a permanent home in Louisville’s West End at the newly created Kentucky State Fairgrounds on Sept. 14, 1908.

In 1956, the fair was moved to the Kentucky State Fairgrounds and Exposition Center where it remains today. It now is spread over 520 acres with 1.2 million square feet of indoor exhibition space for amusements, space for amusements, livestock, home and field-work exhibitions.