West Virginia State Fair

A once a year destination for the Athens teens and families alike is the State Fair of West Virginia. It is held annually in mid-August at the State Fairgrounds in Lewisburg.

The first recorded fair was in 1854. It was held in Greenbrier Valley, Virginia. In 1863 during the civil war when West Virginia became a state it became the Greenbrier Valley West Virginia Fair. In 1941 the West Virginia State Legislature passed an Act officially changing the name to The State Fair of West Virginia. (From an advertisement for the 2023 WV State Fair, greenbrier.com.)

During Our Years the fair offered livestock shows, horse racing, carnival rides and musical acts.  Who can forget Fair food? The corn dogs, funnel cakes covered with powdered sugar, cotton candy, hot dogs, and, of course, the huge cups of lemonade to cure that thirst on those super hot, dusty days.  Also, who can forget the inevitable accidents from eating all that food then going on so many spinning carnival rides?

The FFA Ham Shack was organized by local agricultural teachers/FFA advisors in the late 1950’s. It was operated by the State FFA Association with different chapters from around the state working the stand for one day each during the fair. Originally, all the food was raised and cured by the students but as popularity grew the amount of meat needed became more than they could produce. (greenbrier.com)

A friend on Facebook wrote, “Round 2 of State Fair fun. Last night we went for food and to see the concert. Tonight was about family time and fair fun. We ate, played games, won some prizes, saw rabbits, cows and pigs, saw a llama obstacle course competition, saw a high dive act where one guy set himself on fire before he dove into the pool and even saw a giant ear of corn riding a unicycle. But most of all we spent time together, laughed, saw some friends and made memories. Family time is always the best time.”

A visitor from Florida, who grew up in Athens, said he enjoyed seeing all the 4-H exhibits. He also said one of his favorite things to see at the fair was the draft horse pull competition. There’s so much to see, the livestock competitions, the equine competitions, home, arts & garden competitions, and you can’t leave without indulging in all the fun fair food.

The State Fair of West Virginia has been held annually for over 160 years and the mission has remained the same. ‘Honoring our heritage through programs that promote the traditions of agriculture, education and family entertainment.” (Statefairofwv.com)