It was the oldest State Fair in the country, why did it end?

[CassTechGrad]

Travelling down Woodward yesterday on my way to the VA hospital I passed the old State Fair grounds and noticed that all the huge coliseum buildings were still standing. I can’t remember now why the state ended the fair; it was the oldest fair in the country. My mother even won a 1^st place Blue Ribbon back in the 1970’s for a tablecloth she made. There had to be something else going on behind closed doors to let that fair end. Anybody know the true story?

[Gistok]

It went from a high attendance of 1.2 million in 1966, down to 217,000 in 2009. Lack of attendance. The fair was not cheap to put on, and not enough revenue generated to keep it open without large state subsidies.

[Meddle]

I always felt it was in the wrong place to begin with. There wasn't much farming and agriculture in the area past the 40s or so. It might have made sense back then, but by time the 70s and 80s rolled it, it was out of place and became more about the Midway and Concerts.

Jackson, Battle Creek, even St. Johns would have been better.

[313WX]

Declining attendance was a factor, but really the straw that broke the camel's back was budget pressures due to the Great Recession and collapse of the auto industry.

Some privately-funded skeleton of the State Fair has apparently returned.

[jcole]

Lack of attendance and funds, and little interest except to the older community who grew up going every year. I agree with the above poster who said it was totally in the wrong place. Should have been more central, maybe Lansing area. Also, the UP has their own state fair now

[Satiricalivory]

Declining attendance was a factor, but really the straw that broke the camel's back was budget pressures due to the Great Recession and collapse of the auto industry.

Some privately-funded skeleton of the State Fair has apparently returned.

Yep, agreed. This is pretty much it.

[GPCharles]

It glorified the repression and genocide of farm animals.

[Pam]

There seemed to be a rush to kill it. They didn't give them adequate time to try to find other funding sources. Someone wanted to make money selling off the land. I used to enjoy going. I haven't been to the fake state fair in Novi.

[mjb3]

FYI, Michigan's was never the oldest state fair.
That honor goes to New York, the empire state, where they have held event in Syracuse since 1841. I seem to remember hearing that Iowa, Ill and MN state fairs are among the best as well.

[oladub]

I remember Gov. Romney being on stage with the Supremes although that has little to do with agriculture. Minnesota still has a big State Fair in St. Paul that last year attracted 2.1M attendees so being in a big city or the decline of local agriculture isn't the variable. Open Google images "Minnesota State Fair 2019" to see what the could have been happening in Detroit.

[jcole]

Don't forget Texas; it's supposed to be kick ass.

FYI, Michigan's was never the oldest state fair.
That honor goes to New York, the empire state, where they have held event in Syracuse since 1841. I seem to remember hearing that Iowa, Ill and MN state fairs are among the best as well.

[401don]

It went from a high attendance of 1.2 million in 1966, down to 217,000 in 2009. Lack of attendance. The fair was not cheap to put on, and not enough revenue generated to keep it open without large state subsidies.

That is very small attendance for a state fair. Too much competition from Cedar Point, etc. I guess. Heck our local fair in my home town of Simcoe, in southern Ontario, population 10,000, draws 120,000 annually.

https://norfolkcountyfair.com/

[Meddle]

Wiki says it was the second oldest:

The first U.S. state fair was that of New York, held in 1841 in Syracuse, and has been held annually to the present year. The second state fair was in Detroit, Michigan, which ran from 1849 to 2009.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_fair

Apparently Grahnny put the axe to it. Never liked her, no matter what letter was after her name.

[Wheels]

As funding dwindled so did security and the climate got really ugly . It was no longer a family atmosphere so the main draw of attendance quit coming.

[jcole]

It was largely for the midway and the concerts the last few years. Most of the quaint contests had few contestants: things like Crochet, knitting, other crafts, baking, Twins, etc, were just shells of themselves at the end. And the state couldn't make up the shortfall in attendance fees

As funding dwindled so did security and the climate got really ugly . It was no longer a family atmosphere so the main draw of attendance quit coming.

[dtowncitylover]

I always figured it was in Detroit because how close farmland used to be and because it brought a bit of that farm life into the city.

I miss the state fair though. I get times were tough in 2009 and attendance was low, but a state fair is such a staple to American life. It seems this state is missing that.

And that private state fair version is just not the same.

[jcole]

From MLive in 2010
[QUOTE]The Michigan State Fair had been a state tradition for 160 years and held at Eight Mile and Woodward, within Detroit city limits, since 1905. But the fair had been running deficits and needed $360,000 from the state in 2008 to cover losses. Fewer than 220,000 people passed through last year. At its peak in 1966, the fair drew 1 million.
One thing that hurt the Michigan fair was the state's economy. Michigan's unemployment rate of 15.2 percent led the nation in August 2009 when the last fair was held. Detroit's jobless rate is about 30 percent.

But part of the problem also seems to have been the fair's inability to successfully marry its agrarian roots with money-making entertainment as other state fairs have done.

"State fairs, like the one in Iowa, attendance is up or steady because they have been made as major tourist attractions," said Pam Riney-Kehrberg, professor of agriculture history and rural studies at Iowa State University. "In states where they haven't been able to cultivate a special ethos for the fair, numbers are going down."

The 11-day Iowa State Fair drew about 970,000 this year. Along with typical fair fare, including 4-H livestock judging, a cow sculpted from butter, and chicken and husband calling contests, it had a musical lineup led by country music star Keith Urban and pop singer Sheryl Crow.

In contrast, the Michigan fair's top entertainers last year were the aging rockers in Starship and Survivor, along with Billy Squier. Several little-known country acts also performed.

"The Michigan State Fair being canceled, that's just tragic," said Jerry Hammer, general manager of the Minnesota State Fair.

He thought one problem was the fair's reliance on state subsidies because when those ended, the fair essentially collapsed.

"We don't have any government support here, and that is critical to our success," he said.

https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2...ring_mich.html

[Pam]

As funding dwindled so did security and the climate got really ugly . It was no longer a family atmosphere so the main draw of attendance quit coming.

I never experienced anything ugly. We used to go early in the morning and there were a lot of families and seniors. Never went to the Midway, maybe something "ugly" occurred there.

[KnnNike]

FYI, Michigan's was never the oldest state fair.
That honor goes to New York, the empire state, where they have held event in Syracuse since 1841. I seem to remember hearing that Iowa, Ill and MN state fairs are among the best as well.

In my opinion, Iowa State Fair is the best in the country. But then again, I was born and raised there, so...

[KnnNike]

Wiki says it was the second oldest:

The first U.S. state fair was that of New York, held in 1841 in Syracuse, and has been held annually to the present year. The second state fair was in Detroit, Michigan, which ran from 1849 to 2009.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_fair

Apparently Grahnny put the axe to it. Never liked her, no matter what letter was after her name.

And now Wikipedia says the state fair started in year 1, to celebrate Jesus' first birthday.

Not really, but my point is that Wikipedia is not a reliable source for anything, you shouldn't cite it :-)

[CassTechGrad]

The creepy sideshow with the Louise the leopard girl, waste all your allowance!

[softailrider]

As funding dwindled so did security and the climate got really ugly . It was no longer a family atmosphere so the main draw of attendance quit coming.

We used to go every year. We always had a great time, I do remember it getting somewhat rowdy at times in later years. We would go to the Stonehouse after. It was good times back then, I miss it.

[Bigb23]

There's always "State Fair Light" - the Armada Fair close by. Truck/Tractor pulls, canning/quilts, 4H livestock judging etc. Next in 2021.

[Jimaz]

The creepy sideshow with the Louise the leopard girl, waste all your allowance!

That photo was from Stunning color photographs of the 1941 Vermont State Fair.

[mikefmich]

I always felt it was in the wrong place to begin with. There wasn't much farming and agriculture in the area past the 40s or so. It might have made sense back then, but by time the 70s and 80s rolled it, it was out of place and became more about the Midway and Concerts.

Jackson, Battle Creek, even St. Johns would have been better.

Problem with those locations is population. You're never going to get 7 figure crowds there.