The Oldest Fairs in Michigan

Held annually in Davisburg, the Oakland County Fair is a ten-day mid-July celebration in the heart of metro Detroit's northern suburbs, one of Michigan's largest county fairs drawing hundreds of thousands from southeastern Michigan's most affluent county. The fair traces back to 1830, making it one of Michigan's longest-running agricultural traditions.

In Novi, the Michigan State Fair is a six-day Labor Day celebration in suburban Detroit, drawing visitors from across Michigan for the state's premier agricultural and entertainment fair after its long hiatus and revival. With roots going back to 1849, it's among Michigan's oldest continuously held fairs.

The Hillsdale County Fair is the 11th oldest fair in Michigan, tracing back to around 1850 and settled on permanent grounds in Hillsdale by 1860. Known since the late 1860s by the tagline "The Most Popular Fair on Earth" — first seen on train station posters advertising round-trip tickets, later painted on the grandstand in the 1930s — the fair drew roughly 70,000 visitors in 2016, more than the entire population of Hillsdale County (about 46,000). In its rail-era peak, as many as 22 passenger trains a day brought fairgoers in from as far as Fort Wayne and Elkhart, Indiana, and Toledo, Ohio.

Mount Morris's Genesee County Fair is a seven-day late-August celebration serving the Flint metro area, one of Michigan's largest county fairs drawing tens of thousands from the Flint River corridor. The fair traces back to 1850, making it one of Michigan's longest-running agricultural traditions.

The Allegan County Fair in Allegan is a nine-day September celebration on the Kalamazoo River, one of Michigan's largest county fairs drawing tens of thousands of visitors from southwest Michigan. The fair traces back to 1852, making it one of Michigan's longest-running agricultural traditions.

Held annually in Armada, the Armada Fair is a seven-day August celebration in the heart of Macomb County's farming community, one of metro Detroit's most beloved county fair traditions drawing crowds from throughout southeastern Michigan. Its history stretches back to 1872, placing it among Michigan's oldest agricultural fairs.

Traverse City's Northwestern Michigan Fair is a seven-day August celebration in the Cherry Capital of the World, drawing visitors from across northern Michigan for one of the region's premier fair events. A 1908 founding makes it one of Michigan's longer-running agricultural traditions, still going after more than a century.

The Ionia Free Fair, based in Ionia, is a ten-day mid-July celebration on the Grand River, one of Michigan's premier county fairs drawing over 200,000 visitors for free admission, major entertainment, and state-championship livestock shows. It began in 1915 and has stayed a fixture of Michigan agricultural life for more than a century.

The Upper Peninsula State Fair, based in Escanaba, is a seven-day August celebration on Little Bay de Noc, the premier fair event for Michigan's Upper Peninsula drawing visitors from across the UP and northern Wisconsin. Founded in 1928, it continues to bring Michigan communities together each year.

In Belleville, the Wayne County Fair is a six-day August celebration in suburban Detroit, serving the agricultural communities that persist in Michigan's most populous county alongside the metro area. Since 1947, it's brought Michigan neighbors together year after year.