The 126th Delaware State Fair wrapped up on Saturday, August 1. Although attendance numbers are not finalized as of yet, it is estimated over 300,000 people attended the fair over its 10-day run.
Agriculture remained at the heart of the fair with beef and dairy cattle, sheep, swine, goats, poultry, rabbits, horses, ponies and more featured on the grounds. There were also fitting and showmanship competitions, a Livestock Extravaganza and the Junior Livestock Auction. This fits the mission of the fair which is to preserve and educate the public about agriculture, horticulture and rural life.
In addition to agriculture, the fair offered a large slate of family entertainment with the Goat Island Petting Zoo, Dinosaur Takeover, All-American High Dive, Disc-Connected K9s and the nightly state fair parade.
Photo by Sierra Nichole
The Grandstand concerts were another draw at the fair with a lineup that included Warren Zeiders and other national acts. The annual harness racing and demolition derby were also well attended. The last concert of the fair was a throwback to the 1990s with Men at Work, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Shonen Knife.
As usual, weather impacted the fair when the For King & Country concert was moved an hour earlier due to predicted severe weather. One concert that ended in controversy was Bailey Zimmerman. The opening act played, but when Zimmerman took the stage, the electric at the fair went out. There was an issue at a transformer that required response from the electric company and, after about a half hour, Zimmerman’s concert was cancelled. Many concert ticket buyers felt they were owed refunds, but fair policy states clearly that Grandstand tickets are non-refundable.
This year included special admission days, including Armed Forces Day, Kids’ Day, Senior Days and Food Lion Hunger Relief Day which offered free admission in exchange for five qualifying nonperishable food items.
Competitive exhibits and contests were held, giving Delaware residents the opportunity to enter everything from agriculture to livestock to cooking, craft and other items. The 2026 results of the contests are not yet available but will be published as soon as they are.
Dates for the 2027 Delaware State Fair have not yet been announced.
