The State Fair of Virginia

State fair was great this year. My wife, daughter and my sister and I all went. We had a blast. Food was good, rides were awesome and the guys running the games this year were very nice to my daughter.
We won 2 stuffed animals for my little one. One guy even upper her prize!
My only complaint was it poured down rain for about an hour so we took cover under Porkys bbq tent. They kicked us out (even my 19 mo old daughter) in the pouring rain cause they said we weren’t buying anything. Thank a lot. Now I will never buy anything from you… ever. There were plenty of seating left too. The guy was just a jerk off.

Let me set one thing straight first. Only go to the State Fair if you are planning on spending a ton of money. Almost nothing is included.
That being said, if you have a lot of money to spend, you will have a blast! I went knowing that it would be a lot, so I was prepared. It was $ 12 to get in (I got my ticket at Martin’s and it was $ 3 off the regular price). Then, all the food cost money, obviously. But so do the rides, and the games, and pretty much everything.
The fair itself was awesome! I would encourage people to go if you have $ 35 to spend! That’s what I spent on my ticket, and food and drinks. I didn’t even do rides, because they are not really my thing.

I absolutely love the state fair of VA! I think part of reason is because it only comes once a year so I see it as a special event every time it comes.
I have been about 4 times in the past 5 years and I always have a good time with some good friends. Parking at the fair is a breeze. It’s across the street from the actual fair and there’s always plenty of parking and if you don’t want to walk to your car there’s a courtesy shuttle that can take you to and from the main fair grounds. Parking is the ONLY thing is that free. haha. But this is the fair so expect it to be expensive and expect to spend more than your budget.
I think every year they try to add a few new food items and have a couple of new events/​shows. This year I think you could actually test drive a new F-​150 on a mock course. It looked like fun but none of us wanted to pay. haha. Some of their new food items this year included: fried bubble gum, state fair burger (pulled pork on top of hamburger patty and fried onion), and TWINX (fried twinkie stuffed with twix bar and had bacon pieces). The TWINX was one of the most amazing things I have ever tasted. It just tasted liked fried perfection. You have to try it the next time you visit!
The rides are always fun and of course a bit scary and feels unsafe but that’s all part of the fair charm. The games of course are ahem… unfair to say the least but the money machine always calls my name. Every. Single. Year. It’s a machine where you put quarters and it pushes quarters over a lip and you win actual money!
Me and my friends went opening night and it wasn’t too crowded. We got unlimited ride wrist bands and rode a decent amount of the rides. Good times all around. Make sure to find THE tent where everything on their menu is literally fried.
P. S.- riding the super nova twice in a row is NOT recommended. trust me
P. S.S.- they frown upon jumping over fences and you can get kicked out from riding that ride the rest of the night. Don’t ask how I know…

I went this year after not going since elementary school. It was pretty great, I’m not gonna lie. We didn’t ride the rides because we weren’t looking to spend a heap of money, but we did walk around (saw the businesses in the indoors area and the goats). My boyfriend enjoyed the donut burger and the fried cheesecake. I had the fried peanut butter cups, which absolutely blew my mind. So delicious. We’ll definitely hit it up next year.

I went to the fair every year when it was located in Richmond at Richmond International Raceway. This was my first time going to the fair at its new location in Doswell (down the street from Kings Dominion). Bring your walking shoes because the fair is more spaced out now. There are plenty of fair food favorites, games, animals, and rides. The entertainment schedule varies depending on the day. I thought the best part about the fair this year was the circus (free with admission).The State Fair of Virginia offer customer a mini version of the circus. All of the performers did a great job. Parking is free for all customers. You can wait for a shuttle to the entrance gate or walk. The shuttle runs randomly throughout the day. The parking is a lot better at this location. I personally like the Richmond International Raceway location better but its still fun enjoying the fair atmosphere. I give the State Fair of Virginia (Doswell, VA location) a 3.5 rating.

If you have limited or value your time don’t go to this year’s circus. My group left about 15 mins in. There is much more to see and it does not compare to the circus that was on the midway two years ago. The bright spot of the show (or what I saw of it) was the hula hoop act — she was impressive. High five goes to the horse in the first animal act he/​she was on point and kept on task even when the other animals were all over the place.

Rather disappointed this year. Food was repeat after expensive repeat. I would have paid $ 12 to have a giraffe eat out of my hand so it was worth it in that one tent.

After all the financial problems the Fair has had over the past few years, we weren’t sure what to expect at this year’s extravaganza — but boy, were we pleasantly surprised. The location at the old Doswell farm home of Secretariat is unchanged, and all of the old brick-​and-​mortar buildings are still there and being used for the various exhibits and displays. But the Midway (and, this year, a new Kidway for the little guys) is all new and vastly improved, and it seemed to us the animal exhibits and activities — including a new circus, fewer alpacas and the addition of many new animals for the kids to see and feed (this year carrots were available for feeding — a very nice touch), including a giraffe and musk ox — made the entire Fair seem to us to be much improved and much better organized than over the past few years. The new Midway and Kidway concessionaire (out of Stuart, FL) is without a doubt the best and most organized of the travelling carnival companies I’ve seen — the equipment all seemed to be in a very good state of repair, and the employees were all uniformed, and actually had some abilities in communication and customer service. There were even several Midway Customer Service kiosks for those that had questions or problems, which, for me, was a first among these companies.
So, with three grandchildren in tow, what has, in past years, usually been a 6 or 7 PM departure turned into a visit where we closed the house down at 10 PM. After three or so hours enjoying the animals and agricultural exhibits, it was then around 9 hours of steady rides, occasionally interspersed with food and bathroom breaks. We had planned to catch one of the evening Bluegrass shows, but there was no way we were going to get the kids away from the Midway. And, as you might guess, it was a very quiet ride home.

So I may be a bit biased because I LOVE THE STATE FAIR! This is something I look forward to every year so even if it had a bad year, it is still full of awesome in my heart.
This year (2013) you were allowed to carry your beer throughout the park except for the Midway and Kidway areas. TIP: the local beers are over by the new Triple Crown Amphitheater. I did not know this so I ended up starting with Shocktop, but ended up with Legend Oktoberfest. The local beers carry a $ 1 surcharge ($ 6 vs. $ 5) so make your plans accordingly.
I am a sucker for fried pickles, which some of you might be aware of if you have read my other reviews. In fact, I love them so much I ate them TWICE! The 1^st were cut into chips and came from the concession carrying the Krispy Kreme chili burger this year, right next to Porky’s. The chips were nice, but the breading did not stay on very well. Still — I ate them all. My second order were spears that came from Porky’s. I get these every year and they were just as good as ever. The breading stuck nicely to the pickles but wasn’t so thick to overwhelm that dill flavor I love.
Next we had some Fried Oreos. We got them from the Elephant Ear truck up by the Kidway. These were VERY doughy. In fact, I think they were dipped in the elephant ear batter and then fried. Still — even a doughy fried oreo is a pretty good thing. The order was large 5 or 6, not sure since I only had TWO OF THEM BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE WAS HOGGING THEM.
One of the other things I have to eat every year is a softshell crab sandwich. I know, I know, who eats seafood at the State Fair? Well, I do. The truck is always over by the permanent building that houses all the vendors. In past years they have served two smaller softshells on a roll, but this year you only got one for your $ 10. Now it was on the larger size but I did experience a brief flash of disappointment when just one was on my bun. It was super tasty. I like mine with a dash of hot sauce that was HOT and made my lips tingle.
I also have to recommend the Krispy Kreme burger from Porky’s. Don’t even question it, you know you want to try it. It is a great combination of salty/​sweet that really works.
I think I will buy the season pass next year. If you go twice it pays for itself and if I had one I would be going back after work tonight to see the draft horse pull.

I went with my family on the opening night of the Virginia State Fair. We drove for hours and were in heavy traffic and downpours. We thought it would be a bust. When we finally arrived — the weather gave us a break and we found great foods, attractions and lights and the aroma’s of smoked meats and the sounds of animals and rides was awesome. We got there in time to hear Foghat play and they were fantastic. My feet are still moving the the beat of that great music. I tried the Sausage sub and the rib tips and my wife had the bratwurst and we all had plenty of great food. I saw a lot of other dishes I wanted to try. The motorcycles in the sphere where awesome — what a show. I have to say it was an awesome time and I’d like to go back before the end to see it in daylight. The grounds where well kept and we were surprised after the rains to not be in mud. I am ready for another trip to the State Fair. (I’ve posted some photos on here of the food and sights)

First off, I am a Mark for the State Fair of Virginia. I have been for years. Since the move to the new site at Doswell, from the Racetrack in Richmond (in many aspects a better location) the experience has changed somewhat.
First off, you need to know where you are going. If you drive past Kings Dominion, you will run up on the Fair Grounds a mile or so up the road.
Parking is not that well organized. Like the racetrack, if you get in the lower 40 parking spaces, you have a bit of walking (more on that) to do, though the SFVA does have shuttles that run to specific kiosk areas in the parking lot. Not a lot of Handicap parking available.
At the new site, you will do a lot of walking. Up and down hills, and through several tunnels (due to the split nature of the Fair Grounds). After going through the ticket booths and going through the 4 lane road tunnel, you get to make your choice of where you want to go. To the right, is the livestock area, and to the left, the displays and arcades. Visualize a large figure eight laid on top of a long stick, and that is the general layout.
You can get your normal fair type foods. Plenty of things to choose from. Bring Tums.
Restrooms are located around the grounds. The Rides/​Carnival area is laid out as a area to itself, just off of the display side. Either tickets or a extra cost wrist band are needed to ride the rides there. Large assortment of adult and kid based rides.
We’ve been going to the SFVA for years. On their website, you can purchase ahead, the needed tickets (to include a pass that will allow you to go to all of the days that the fair is open).
I am sure that there are bigger and better State Fairs out there. The SFVA does a fine job here.
It’s family friendly, and you will have a good time. Make sure that you go see the Racing Pigs (but remember: Tyrone the Terrible cheats…)…
Highly recommended.
@Removeyourhat
Edit: The SFVA Inc, had reported financial difficulties over the last few months, and had, in fact, went into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Today, it was announced that it had changed from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, and was ceasing operations. Amazing. The Commonwealth of VA does not have a State Fair now.
Edit 2: The affairs of the State Fair of Virginia have been purchased by Farm Bureau and the Fair has returned.

I attended the State Fair in Sept 2010 with a group of seniors. This is the second year at the new location which is about 24 miles north of Richmond. I had been to the fair a few times before, when it was located in Richmond at the racetrack. Logistics-​wise, that was a much better location. The entire fair was more compact and it was much easier to walk around. For Seniors and little kids, this new location is a nightmare. First of all, you need a car to get there. It is located in the middle of a field. Then, the fair is broken up in two different locations, separated by a road. There is a lot of walking between locations (the grandstand and show rings are on one side and the rest of the fair on the other) and I didn’t see any kind of transportation to take you back and forth. There is a shuttle that runs around only one side of the fair which does not help if the end of the day you need to get back to your bus if you came as a group or get to the parking lot. I asked some people working there why they moved, one said the fair lost their contract at the racetrack but all of them said, the «clientile» was different here and it was safer and more families came now. Things were getting too rough at the old location and they needed a lot of security, especially at night. You feel really safe in this location because it is in a middle of field and if you don’t have a car, you can’t get there. I was there only during the day, so can’t comment on the activities at night.
My main complaint is that this is a poor excuse for a state fair. I have been to six different state fairs and this is the worst! I saw absolutely no 4-​H displays, and we all know 4-​H is one of the main items at fairs! Where were the displays and the animals raised by 4-​H kids? There were very few animals! I did see some sheep, poultry, goats and hogs but almost no cattle and for an entire state, there were not many animals in stalls. The cattle tent was almost empty! There was one large tent with different young animals, including two sows with baby pigs which was fun and cute! There was a birthing center but all I saw was one poor cow and she looked like she was not going to give birth anytime soon. I did see a sheep judging. But I missed the 4-​H displays. There was little to showcase the different counties of Virginia. Since the location is new (and not attractive) almost everything is in tents. There are few actual buildings built yet. The food was horrible and expensive, except for the shakes from the VA Tech booth. There were no «home cooking» places – where was the country ham? The vendor building was huge and probably 100 vendors were there trying to sell you things, especially household goods, home services and even some religious stands giving away free Bibles. The arts and crafts were OK, there was a large quilt display that was very nice. There is a heritage area that is good. The African-​American display is very good, and there was a small one on Virginia Native Americans. There was a good looking team of oxen and a huge house built from a redwood to go through. There are also a few state organizations passing out things. I don’t do rides so didn’t check out those. There was some entertainment; I saw a good magic show, and there was bull-​riding at night (they used to have a full rodeo in the past) and there is some kind of entertainment every day at a few locations but none of it looked very exciting when I saw the schedule.
The bottom line is, there is just too much walking, it’s in a bad location out in the middle of nowhere, poor food choices, and not much to see unless you like rides. If you live in the Northern VA area, or Maryland go into Maryland and visit the Frederick County Fair and the Montgomery County Fair. Yes – these COUNTY fairs have a lot more to offer than our Virginia state fair! They have terrific food, lots of animals, great entertainment every night, 4-​H displays, a large birthing area, and better arts and crafts displays! Even the Maryland State Fair has better food and more animals. And a lot less walking!

Ok I can’t compare this particular state fair to any other state fair because I have never been to any others, but I do get a seasons pass to this one every year, and it’s well worth the money. I can spend every night of the week there and still never get bored. There are whole tents of livestock and fowl to browse through, and I’ve seen more than one fair visitor leave with a set of pigeons or a new pet rabbit. Not as many people leave with the earless goats, but they are cute to look at. And of course there is a baby animal tent where you can see baby piglets, and newborn calves. You can also adopt a puppy, as one of the rescues sets up shop there as well.
Then there are other tents devoted to vegetables and farming. Last year there was a pool set up that you could fish in, provided you threw back anything you caught. The produce is judged in contests and then put on display, and it’s cool to see the largest watermelon, etc.
There are also huge tents of crafts and pie contests etc. You can see all the winners, runners up, etc. In this area there is also a lot of franchise-​type booths– one candy shop sets up a booth and sells candy by the pound, and there was a guy demonstrating luxury cookware as well.
Some of my favorite events at the fair are the piglet racing (which takes place on a regular schedule each evening, and is a sure crowd pleaser), the rodeo contests (I saw a girl go through an obstacle course and shoot balloons while riding a horse last year– pretty impressive), and the monster truck bashing (which you really only need to see once)…
There are also shows where you can see dogs do tricks, play guitar hero in front of a live audience, and there are tents with beer and live bands where you can hang out…
Ah, and then the food. I could eat here every night. Fried oreos and twinkies, you can’t go wrong with either. Or fried cheesecake for that matter– the cheesecake is frozen and it thaws a bit when it gets fried, it’s delicious.
Don’t waste your time on fried candy bars, they are too gooey and just a mess, in my opinion. But you do owe yourself a turkey leg (they sometimes run out late at night, so if you see one that looks good grab it) and there is a vendor selling freshly made kettle corn that is always amazing. Believe it or not, there is a vendor there every year selling goat (I’ve never tried it), and there is also a greek vendor doing really good gyros. But for me, I like the vendor that does fried mac and cheese… anything fried is my friend.
I like going towards the end of the night, or in other off hours, to avoid the mobs of kids… although, I also really like the people-​watching at the fair, so I do sometimes choose to go at busy times. With a season pass (which you can buy online) you can go in and out as much as you want, and come back as often as you like.
Last year was the first year the fair was at it’s new location, up by Kings Dominion. Before that it was at the Richmond Raceway, and I think it was much better there. For one thing it was way closer, and for another thing you didn’t have to walk as far to get to the damn fair! At the new location you have to park across the street, walk through a tunnel, get your tickets, and then walk up a hill to get to the first part of the fair. And it’s a big fair so its not like once you get in there you don’t have to walk… it’s a bit of a pain in the neck, and since it’s a 20 min drive from my house now I only went once or twice last year, instead of every evening like I have in previous years.
Oh and the only other thing I don’t like is that while most of their freak show attractions are obviously fake, the littlest woman in the world exhibit is real. She is from Haiti, and she sits in a hot tent in a little dress and people pay money to look at her. Its demeaning and I didn’t realize when I paid that it wasn’t going to be fake, otherwise I would have never paid to see her.

My main objective at this fair (or any fair) was to take a bite of everything food-​wise. I never knew I had so much in common with carcharodon carcharias. Chocolate-​chip-​covered caramel apple: chomp. Chocolate-​covered strawberries: chomp. Honey? Chomparoo. Pizza (twice): chomp CHOMP. Corn dog: CHOMP. Pop corn: CHOMP. Twisty cone with jimmies: CHOMP!
I probably spent about $ 70 on food alone, none of which I finished (okay, I totally crushed the twisty cone). I was having a morsel ball – and there was so much more to try that I just couldn’t handle. All kinds of BBQ, roasted corn on the cob, hamburgers, elephant ears, fried dough, french fries, fried pickles and FRIED SODA.* That’s right! If you were the least bit surprised hearing on NPR that Richmond ranks third in the nation for junk food consumption like I was, let that fallacy fall silently to the ground like a wisp of cotton candy from a jumbo-​sized bag.
We saw pig races. There were duck races, but we missed them. I saw pretty horses, ugly hogs and cute sheep. There was a fish ‘n’ let ‘em go pond, a «green» tent, a horse arena and supposedly chimps on horseback. But really that show consisted of a hoarse old crow professing her love for some chimp who after 15 minutes never got on a horse. So we went on the rides.
It’s $ 13 to get in to the fair, and an unlimited-​ride bracelet will set you back $ 13. The people working the bracelet booths are mongs. I’m not going to go into it. The rides are fun, but not as fun as say 20 years ago when I could ride them endlessly. My favorite was the Tilt-​a-​whirl, and my sister made sure I knew I was old and lame for liking that one (see my pics). I almost hurled after the Scrambler.
I got into it with some chickenheads – this place was crawling with unruly teen thugs. I never saw such mean muggin’ in my life than after I told this one crew of kids to stop touching me and bumping me. I lost some hearing in my left ear due to standing in front of Shaquiqua and her girls in line. Other than that, it was a blast.
*Fried soda consists of a jelly-​like substance made from soda syrup wrapped in dough and drowned in frying substance.