The sunshine state may be best known for its beautiful beaches and iconic theme parks, but you truly cannot beat the incredible fairs in Florida. There is nothing quite like the excitement of spending the day at one of the many Florida fairs.
Great for families of all ages, couples, or a day with friends, the fairs in Florida bring something everyone can enjoy. Pack up the family and prepare for a day filled with great food, exhilarating rides, and the chance to see many different types of animals.
With the year-round sunshine, the fairs in Florida are bound to impress. Get ready for great food, adorable animals, and unique shows and events!
15 Best Fairs in Florida You Should Visit
Florida State Fair
“Find Your Fun” at one of the best known fairs in Florida, the Florida State Fair. Located in Tampa, the Florida State Fair is known for brining Floridians from all across the state to enjoy all that Florida has to offer and embrace a sense of community.
Since 1904, the Florida State Fair has had something for everyone to enjoy. From agriculture to deep fried fair food, the opportunities are endless. The fairgrounds are made up of over 330 acres, and attract around 1.5 million visitors every year.
It is one of the best things to do in Florida In February.
Families will enjoy seeing various animals such as steer, sheep, goats, rabbits, llamas, and more! For the thrill seeker, the midway boasts awesome rides such as the Street Fighter and the Wipeout. Pack up the family and some sunscreen, and prepare for a fun family day embracing what it really means to be a Floridian at the Florida State Fair! While in the area, be sure to check out some fun things to do in Tampa!
Sarasota County Fair
In early spring, the Sarasota County Fair brings in over 140,000 visitors every year. The 65 acres of these Florida fairgrounds are filled with unique shows suited for people of all ages, livestock competitions, and iconic fair food.
When visiting the Sarasota County Fair, some of the shows you can look forward to seeing are shows of hypnosis and Oscar the robot! In addition, the fair offers visitors the chance to see exotic animals such as camels and bears.
While the fair is off season, the Sarasota county fairgrounds is home to the Showfolks of Sarasota, an incredible circus experience. The Showfolks even offer holiday themed shows and a masquerade ball during Christmas time. Make sure to visit in time to see the fair as well as doing some of the many exciting things to do in the Sarasota area
Citrus County Fair
Later in the Spring, one of the best named fairs in Florida, the Citrus County Fair comes to town. The citrus county fair has a mission to bring scholarship opportunities, and provide opportunity for the community to interact with agriculture, education, and culture.
In 1920, the county started to entertain the idea of a county fair, and by 1926, the annual Citrus County Fair was underway. While the fair offers the normal fair opportunities such as livestock competitions, midway rides and games, and great food, the Citrus county fair is unique in its pursuit of scholarship.
Students are encouraged to apply for the annual scholarships which encourage competition and the pursuit of higher education.
South Florida Fair
Located in West Palm Beach, the South Florida Fair has several stages and theaters, ensuring entertainment to delight the whole family. Each year this fair brings in about half of a million visitors, and has approximately 135 acres to explore.
This Florida fair offers competitions for visitors in all walks of life such as a senior bake off, craft competitions, and pageants. In addition, the fair offers a beer and wine garden with live entertainment and a wide variety of beers and wines.
In addition to being one of the larger fairs in Florida, the South Florida Fairgrounds also boast the Yesteryear Village which is open almost all year. This village is a living history park and takes visitors back in time to the 1940’s by setting up building to look as they did back then and by having hired actors play residents who will tell you stories of what life was like in that time. In addition to the Yesteryear Village, make sure to save time to fo some of the other unique things in West Palm Beach!
Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair
In the late fall, the Jacksonville fairgrounds host the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair. The fairgrounds are about 12 acres along with 50 thousand square feet of exhibition halls and 44 thousand square feet of agricultural complex.
The first fair took place in 1955 and had over 45,000 in attendance. Nowadays, this fair is the largest in Northeast Florida, and is even ranked as the 47th largest fair in the United States. This fair has even donated over 3 million dollars to charity since its beginnings.
The fair offers tons of shows such as livestock competitions, limousine shows, and dog shows. In addition there are welding contests and even scholarship opportunities. If you’re in the area and looking to have a beach day, you can find the best beaches in the area here.
Saint Lucie County Fair
The people of the Treasure Coast take pride in their Saint Lucie County Fair, and consider their fair to be one of the best fairs in Florida. Their mission is to provide opportunities for agricultural, horticultural, industrial, creative, scientific, and education opportunities while also providing entertainment for visitors.
The Saint Lucie Country Fair offers livestock showing for 4-H and Future Farmers of America youth students, ages 8-18, and encourages families to show support. In addition to livestock, the fair boasts many home arts and school craft competitions.
Some of the other entertainment includes rodeos and a demolition derby. Since its creation in 1966, the Saint Lucie County Fair has entranced the residents of the Treasure Coast, and 30 years after its birth, it outgrew its location. In 1996, the fair moved to a ground of 250 acres, and since then has continued to fill that space with fun.
The Charlotte County Fair
Considered to be the premier showcase of Charlotte county, the Charlotte County Fair was established in 1989 as a way to promote education and agriculture.
While the Charlotte County Fair boasts livestock shows, art competitions, and pageants, the fairgrounds are used all year round for the residents of Charlotte county and beyond. During fall, the fairgrounds become a Halloween scare park including a haunted circus tent and a Jekyll and Hyde festival.
In addition to this, the fairgrounds are used for gun shows, MMA fights, and even a mullet festival!
Indian River County Fairgrounds
Known as central Florida’s premier fairgrounds and expo center, the Indian River Country Fairgrounds consist of around 140 acres with about 50,000 square feet of expo space.
The exposition center at the fairgrounds serves the central Florida community by providing a convenient space for weddings, children’s sport competitions, and more.
The fairgrounds also host a multitude of car shows, pet shows, concerts, seminars, and farmers markets. The central Florida community uses this space for gatherings and necessary functions, making the Indian River County Fairgrounds one of the most useful and community driven fairgrounds in Florida.
Central Florida Fair
In the early spring, citizens of Central Florida flock to the Central Florida Fair in Orlando. This fair serves the communities of Orange, Seminole, Lake, Osceola, and Brevard County, and provides a space for the youth to show off their hard work raising livestock.
In addition to livestock shows, the Central Florida Fair, much like the other fairs in Florida, provides a place for creative and educational pursuits for youth. This fair in particular highlights STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) competitions.
Of course the Central Florida Fair sports fun for people of all ages. Visitors can enjoy tons of different rides in the midway along with carnival games. There are also a plethora of entertaining shows and delicious food to keep the day busy! While Orlando can be a very expensive city, there are plenty of things to do there that don’t cost money, so add this fair and a list of free things to your bucket list!
Volusia County Fair
Another of the exciting fairs in Florida, is the Volusia County Fair, located in DeLand. The fairgrounds has plenty of indoor spaces with two arenas around 20,000 square feet and an arena around 10,000 square feet. This fair also has plenty of space for camping to get the full fair experience. There are over 95 full hookup spaces for campers available.
The Volusia County Fair was founded in 1923, and takes place in the fall. The fair has a large board of officers and directs whom work to create a space for youth to take part in healthy competition each year while also providing days of care free fun for visitors.
The fair boasts “home grown fun” for the whole family, and has fun rides, great food, and many shows including concerts from up and coming bands. This Florida fair also has an amusing tractor parade and a talent show!
Florida Renaissance Fair
During February and March, the Florida Renaissance Fair takes place annually just outside of Fort Lauderdale. This fair brings the 1400’s to life as most visitors dress in renaissance attire, and the entire fairgrounds is themed. Visitors truly feel like they’ve stepped back in time and into a fairytale land.
Many of the weekends the fair is running have themed weekends for visitors to use as inspiration for their costumes. Some of the themes include pirate invasion, viking warriors, and a Celtic celebration. The fair also boasts many themed shows such as jousting!
Out of all of the fairs in Florida, the Florida Renaissance Fair definitely boasts the most unique food. Giant Turkey legs, organic bison, shepherds pie, and leg of lamb are just a few of the delicious things you devour while at this fair.
Space Coast State Fair
Located in the center of the Space Coast in Brevard County is the Space Coast State Fair. The fair is known as a must see tradition on the Florida space coast. The fair offers an all inclusive ticket which makes all of the rides and shows free of charge after buying the entry ticket.
One of the top attractions of the fair is the Urias Family Circus and their famous globe of death. This circus is made up of daredevils who motorcycle through a huge, metal cage shaped like a dome.
In addition to this, the Bears of Bearadise Ranch show gives visitors the opportunity to meet magnificent bears that live in a natural habitat and are taken care of by a caring family. Of course the Space Coast State Fair has rides for daredevils and younger kids alike, providing tons of options for all tastes!
Miami-Dade County Fair
During the early winter, visitors and citizens of Miami alike flock to the alluring Miami-Dade County Fair. This fair attracts over 500,000 visitors each year.
Before you hit the fair, make sure to get some fuel at one of these amazing coffee shops! Similar to the other amazing fairs in Florida, the Miami-Dade County Fair includes many opportunities to enjoy thrilling rides in the midway and to eat delicious, and oftentimes fried, food. There are also plenty of opportunities for observing or participating in the many different livestock competitions. Visitors can see rabbits, chickens, and over 5 different breeds of cattle.
The fairground expo center is also available for rent while the fair is not in town. The space is air conditioned and offers over 86 acres of flexible space. Some events that take place there are the Harvest festival and volleyball tournaments!
Dancing in the Streets Fair
Every year in the late spring, the small town of Neptune Beach hosts the Dancing in the Streets Fair. Almost the entire community looks forward to this event, and every year the turnout gets better!
During this fair, the small town center next to the beach transforms into a makeshift fairground that sports Jacksonville’s best food trucks and live entertainment. The concerts provide the background for the dancing in the streets of which this fair got its name.
If visitors need a break from dancing, there’s also a huge art show that includes painting, jewelry making, glass creations, and many more. There is also a kid zone that provides a guaranteed good time for kids of all ages. And of course, this fair takes places less than a block away from the beach, giving visitors the chance to relax and cool off in the Atlantic Ocean.
Florida Oktoberfest
Going strong for over 45 years, the Florida Oktoberfest is one of the fairs in Florida that is sure to please. Each October, the fair hosts incredible Bavarian inspired bands to provide live performance. This always includes some high energy polka music.
Of course, visitors can enjoy the best of German food and drink including schnitzel, goulash, and bratsursts. No Oktoberfest would be complete without a stein of one of the many delicious German beers available. The fair also includes a carnival with rides and games, making Oktoberfest a fair that all ages can enjoy.
Dress in Bavarian style outfits to complete the experience, and enjoy shopping traditional German items while at the Florida Oktoberfest.
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