The Oldest Fairs in Arkansas

The Washington County Fair, based in Fayetteville, is a July fair at the University of Arkansas, celebrating the agricultural, academic, and Ozark heritage of a county that is home to the Razorbacks and one of the most dynamic college city cultures in the South, anchored by both traditional northwest Arkansas farming and the booming tech and arts scene of the Fayetteville-Springdale corridor. Its history stretches back to 1857, placing it among Arkansas's oldest agricultural fairs.

Held annually in Bentonville, the Benton County Fair is a July fair in the fastest-growing metro area in the United States, celebrating the agricultural, retail, and outdoor heritage of a county that is home to Walmart's global headquarters, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and one of the most extraordinary networks of mountain bike trails in North America. It began in 1904 and has stayed a fixture of Arkansas agricultural life for more than a century.

The Sebastian County Fair in Fort Smith is an August fair at the gateway of the American West, celebrating the frontier, military, and manufacturing heritage of a city that served as the last stop before Indian Territory for westward migrants and where Judge Isaac Parker (the "Hanging Judge") dispensed rough frontier justice at the federal courthouse. Since its 1913 founding, it's endured as a century-plus Arkansas agricultural tradition.

The Arkansas State Fair is the flagship annual event of the Natural State, held each October at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds in Little Rock. Since 1938, it's brought Arkansas neighbors together year after year. Drawing visitors from all 75 counties, it is the premier showcase for Arkansas agriculture, youth achievement, and entertainment, combining the traditions of a great agricultural fair with major midway attractions and headline concerts.

Hot Springs's Garland County Fair is a September fair in America's first federal reserve and the only national park in a city, celebrating the spa resort, horse racing, and Ouachita Mountain heritage of Hot Springs — whose combination of federal hot spring bathhouses, Thoroughbred racing at Oaklawn Park, and lakeside resort atmosphere made it one of the most popular destinations in the early 20th century South. The fair began in 1942 and has remained a community tradition ever since.