Tennessee State Fair | |
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Genre | State fair |
Dates | Mid-September (1855–2019) Mid-August (2021–) |
Location(s) | Nashville, Tennessee (1855–2019) Lebanon, Tennessee (2021–) |
Years active | 1855–1860; 1866–1871; 1906–1929; 1933–1941; 1946–1964, 1966–1969, 1971–2019; 2021– |
Website | http://www.tnstatefair.org |
The Tennessee State Fair is an annual state fair, formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee. Until 2021, the fair was generally held in the second week of September, as well as the weekends surrounding it. The fair regularly had attendance over 200,000 people per year while located at the Nashville Fairgrounds. [1] The State Fairgrounds have been under scrutiny since Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announced the closure of the fairgrounds in 2009. After much controversy, a referendum on the city's ability to redevelop the fairgrounds for other uses was held, with the voters choosing to increase the required votes to make changes from a simple majority to two-thirds majority. [2] The Tennessee State Fair and Exposition Commission granted the Tennessee State Fair to the non-profit organization Tennessee State Fair Association through 2018. After 2019, the fair was moved to the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon and held in conjunction with the much larger Wilson County Fair.
The first Tennessee State Fair was held in 1855, but only lasted a few years. The property where the old fairs were held on was later used for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, and has since become known as Centennial Park. [3] The current incarnation of the State Fair began in 1906, and has been held annually, except for four years during World War II, through the Great Depression, a 1965 fire that destroyed the majority of the fairgrounds, a 1970 fire that ruined the fair's coliseum, and 2020 on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic. [1] Originally run by the State of Tennessee, the state relinquished control of the fair to Davidson County in 1923, who created The Metropolitan Board of Fair Commissioners to operate the fair. [3] In 2011, the Metropolitan Board of Fair Commissioners leased the event to the Tennessee State Fair Association, a non-profit created to operate the State Fair. [4]
In March 2019, the Tennessee State Fair Commission voted to move the fair from the Nashville Fairgrounds after 2019 over space concerns at the site. Part of the site was re-developed for the Nashville Fairgrounds Stadium for Nashville SC of Major League Soccer. Concerns included parking, location for the carnival and midway, and adequate space and facilities for farm animal and agricultural exhibitions. [5] [6] After not hosting the fair in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced in May 2021 that the fair would be moved to the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Tennessee, and held in conjunction with the Wilson County Fair in mid-August, earlier than the traditional September date. [7]
Nashville is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Tennessee, as well as the county seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the 21st most-populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous city in the southeastern U.S. Located on the Cumberland River, the city is the center of the Nashville metropolitan area, and is one of the fastest growing in the nation.
Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner counties, Tennessee. Goodlettsville was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; in 2020 the population was 17,789.
The Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition was an exposition held in Nashville from May 1 – October 31, 1897 in what is now Centennial Park. A year late, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of Tennessee's entry into the union in 1796. President William McKinley officially opened the event from the White House, where he pressed a button that started the machinery building at the fair; he would visit in person a month later.
Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The 277-acre (112 ha) area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936.
The Parthenon in Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It was designed by architect William Crawford Smith and built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.
The WeGo Star is a commuter rail service which runs between Nashville and Lebanon, Tennessee. The service uses the existing track of the Nashville and Eastern Railroad. The line stops at seven stations: Riverfront, Donelson, Hermitage, Mt. Juliet, Martha, Hamilton Springs and Lebanon. The operation covers 32 miles (51 km) of rail line. Service began on September 18, 2006. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 92,100.
The Metropolitan Council is the legislative body of the consolidated city-county government of Nashville, Tennessee and Davidson County.
The Nashville metropolitan area is a metropolitan statistical area. Its largest principal city is Nashville, the capital and largest city in Tennessee, in the United States. With a population of just over 2 million, it is the most populous metropolitan area in Tennessee. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, in terms of land area.
The Missouri State Fair is the state fair for the state of Missouri, which has operated since 1901 in Sedalia, Missouri. It includes daily concerts, exhibits and competitions of animals, homemade crafts, shows, and many food/lemonade stands, and it lasts 11 days. The fairgrounds are located at 2503 W 16th Street on the southwest side of the city at the intersection of West 16th Street and South Limit Avenue.
The Oregon State Fair is the official state fair of the U.S. state of Oregon. It takes place every August–September at the 185-acre (0.75 km2) Oregon State Fairgrounds located in north Salem, the state capital, as it has almost every year since 1862. In 2006, responsibility for running the fair was delegated to the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department, and the division is now known as the Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center (OSFEC), which holds events on the fairgrounds year-round.
The Tulsa State Fair is an annual event held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The modern fair takes place in late September and lasts 11 days.
The Nashville Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation is the municipal board that is responsible for maintaining the parks system of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's residents. The board maintains over 10,710 acres (4,330 ha) of park space. The Board boasts over 100 stand-alone parks and 7 municipal golf courses.
John Angelo Lester (1858-1934) was an American educator, physician and administrator in Nashville, Tennessee between 1895 and 1934. He was a professor of physiology at Meharry Medical College and was named Professor Emeritus in 1930. Lester served as an executive officer in the National Medical Association and various state and regional medical associations throughout Tennessee, a mecca for African-American physicians since Reconstruction.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
The 2015 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 6, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. As no candidate won a majority of the vote, a runoff was held on September 10 between the top two candidates.
Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in Major League Soccer in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned by John Ingram, owner of Ingram Industries, along with investors and partial owners the Turner family of Dollar General Stores.
Geodis Park, known during development and construction as Nashville SC Stadium and Nashville Fairgrounds Stadium, is a 30,000-seat soccer-specific stadium at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the home of Major League Soccer club Nashville SC. The stadium opened on May 1, 2022, with Nashville SC hosting the Philadelphia Union in the stadium's inaugural match.
The Nashville Fairgrounds, also known as The Fairgrounds Nashville and the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, is an entertainment complex in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The 117-acre (47 ha) site is located southeast of Downtown Nashville on the Nolensville Pike. The historic home of the Tennessee State Fair, today the complex is home to Geodis Park, home of Nashville SC of Major League Soccer, Fairgrounds Speedway, the Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena, the Nashville Flea Market, and The Nashville Fair. The site is undergoing redevelopment into a mixed-use development spurred by the construction of the soccer stadium with commercial and residential use and a community park. Additionally, there is a plan to renovate and upgrade Fairgrounds Speedway to host NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series events in conjunction with Speedway Motorsports.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Tennessee on March 5, 2020. As of June 5, 2022, there are 2,023,815 confirmed cases, 26,103 deaths, and 12,825,885 reported tests.
The 2023 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 3, 2023, with a runoff on September 14 because no candidate surpassed 50% of the vote in the general election. It selected the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent mayor John Cooper did not seek re-election to a second term in office. While mayoral elections in Nashville are officially nonpartisan, Cooper is a member of the Democratic Party.