The Oldest Fairs in Texas

Fredericksburg is home to the Gillespie County Fair, which is one of the oldest county fairs in Texas, a late-August celebration in the heart of the Texas Hill Country that has gathered German-heritage farm families in the peach and wine country since 1881. A 1881 founding makes it one of Texas's longer-running agricultural traditions, still going after more than a century.

Held annually in Dallas, the State Fair of Texas is one of the largest state fairs in the nation, a twenty-four-day September through October celebration at Fair Park drawing over two million visitors annually with blockbuster entertainment, champion livestock, and legendary Texas-sized food. First held in 1886, it's carried on as a Texas agricultural tradition for well over a hundred years.

Every year, Fort Worth hosts the Southwestern Exposition & Livestock Show, which is one of the oldest continuously running livestock shows in the United States, a three-week January through February celebration at Will Rogers Memorial Center that launched Fort Worth's identity as Cowtown and remains the crown jewel of the Texas livestock show circuit. It began in 1896 and has stayed a fixture of Texas agricultural life for more than a century.

The South Texas State Fair, based in Beaumont, is an eleven-day October fair in the Golden Triangle, one of Southeast Texas's premier fair events drawing visitors from across the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange metropolitan area and the surrounding oil refinery and rice farming communities. The fair got its start in 1907 and has remained a Texas agricultural mainstay ever since.

Tyler is home to the East Texas State Fair, which is a ten-day September celebration in the Rose Capital of the World, one of East Texas's most beloved fair events drawing visitors from across the Piney Woods and the Tyler metro area. It began in 1912 and has stayed a fixture of Texas agricultural life for more than a century.

Held annually in Amarillo, the Tri-State Fair is a ten-day September fair serving the agricultural communities of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, one of the largest fair events on the High Plains drawing visitors from across the tri-state Panhandle region. A 1923 founding makes it one of Texas's longer-running agricultural traditions, still going after more than a century.

The North Texas Fair & Rodeo, based in Denton, is a ten-day August fair serving the rapidly growing Denton County and the broader North Texas region, one of the premier fair events in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex drawing visitors from across the Metroplex and the surrounding counties. It's gathered Texas communities together since 1927.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park is the world's largest livestock show and rodeo, a twenty-day February through March spectacle that draws over two million visitors annually and generates millions in educational scholarships for Texas students. It's gathered Texas communities together since 1931.

Mercedes's Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show is a ten-day March celebration at the heart of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, one of the most important agricultural fairs in South Texas celebrating the unique subtropical farming heritage of a region that produces citrus, vegetables, and livestock year-round. Since 1932, it's brought Texas neighbors together year after year.

The West Texas Fair & Rodeo at the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene is an eight-day September celebration serving the Big Country of West Central Texas, the premier fair event for the Abilene metro area and the surrounding counties of the rolling West Texas plains. It's gathered Texas communities together since 1938.

The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo at the AT&T Center is a sixteen-day February celebration in the heart of the Alamo City, one of the premier stock shows in the American Southwest drawing visitors from across South Texas and the border region. Established in 1950, the fair has served as a community gathering point for generations.

In Waco, the Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo is a nine-day October celebration at the Extraco Events Center, one of Central Texas's premier fair events serving the Waco metro area and the broader Heart of Texas region at the crossroads of I-35 and the Brazos River. Founded in 1955, it has grown into a beloved annual event for the region.