Marylanders wanting to squeeze every last drop out of summer can turn their minds to the upcoming 144th Maryland State Fair, taking place over three weekends at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, starting on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, and concluding on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.
This end-of-summer tradition has all the attractions Marylanders have come to expect on the Carnival Midway and at the Exhibition Hall, not to mention indulgent eats and lively entertainment for all ages. Enjoy thrills of the rides on the Midway and play games to win prizes. Little ones will love Kiddie Land rides and games, and the Maryland Foods Pavilion, Dairy Bar, and Chesapeake Beverage Garden will have food and drinks fresh from the farm and Bay.
This year’s fair dates and times are as follows:
DATES:
Thursday, Aug. 21 – Sunday, Aug. 24
Thursday, Aug. 28 – Monday, Sept. 1 (Labor Day)
Thursday, Sept. 4 – Sunday, Sept. 7
HOURS:
Thursdays:
- Gates: 5 p.m.
- Buildings: 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Exhibition Hall: 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Carnival Midway: 5 p.m. – close
Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Labor Day Monday:
- Gates: 9 a.m.
- Buildings: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Exhibition Hall: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Carnival Midway: 10 a.m. to close
There is no admission after 9 p.m. Anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult age 21 or older.
In 2022, The Maryland State Fair decided to move to a three-weekend format instead of having it over one span of 12 consecutive days. David Gordon, assistant general manager for the fair, told Baltimore Fishbowl that change was made for several reasons, one of which was to accommodate earlier start dates of school districts around the state.
“Three long weekends give us more days when kids aren’t in school so they wouldn’t have to miss school to participate in events and activities at the fair,” Gordon said. “So, we try to stack those youth activities on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Labor Day Mondays, where the kids wouldn’t have to choose between missing school or participating in Maryland State Fair.”
Gordon also said there were financial reasons for the move, since their biggest earning days were on the weekends. As a 501(c)3, that is a major consideration, and it also helps avoid slow times for exhibitors and vendors who had a harder time making money during the weekday hours. The three-weekend format also helps lessen the impact of a rainy or bad weather weekend.
“If we have a washout one Saturday, well, more than likely we won’t have a washout three Saturdays in a row,” Gordon said.
He acknowledged the difficulty of the longer time span overall, but said the vendors and exhibitors really enjoy it and see the value.
“It’s in the best interest of the nonprofit mission and goals and creates the most money that we can put back into our goal of educating people about agriculture,” Gordon said.
The fair employs a rotating schedule, so that most animals and their caregivers aren’t required to be there for all three weekends. One weekend the beef cattle will be there, the following weekend the dairy cattle will be there, and so on.
In a few cases, like the display animals and the U-Learn barn area animals, the fair works with and pays farmers to have the animals there all three weekends. These farmers are usually closer to the fairgrounds, making it easier to travel. The University of Maryland dairy herd is also there every weekend.
Gordon said there is a night watchperson that stays with the animals overnight, and there is a vet on call 24 hours in case there are any issues with the animals. They always have a pregnant cow due to give birth, and one of the favorite events is the calf-naming competition where visitors enter a competition to name the newborn calf.
In addition to the usual fair attractions Marylanders look forward to every year, quite a few new things are planned for this year.
The Live! ON TRACK! Concert Series will bring live shows by The Marshall Tucker Band with Special Guest Orianthi on Friday, Sept. 5, Maddox Batson on Saturday, Sept. 6, and a Sunday morning concert presented by WTMD called Sunday Morning Tunes featuring Grateful Dead & Phish for Kids on Sept. 7.
There will be live thoroughbred horse racing, where fairgoers can watch and wager on the races in the Grandstand seats as the magnificent animals round the 5/8th-mile track.
College students will enjoy College Night Thursdays Special, where students with a current valid college ID can enjoy an $8 admission and/or one $26 ride wristband on Thursday evenings, sold from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Yogis will have the chance to do their downward dogs with goats, should this be something they’ve wanted to do baaaaaaaaa-dly. That experience happens on Monday, Sept. 1 from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., and the $50 ticket price includes admission to the fair.
“The one thing we’re really excited about is we have the sea otter show coming this year,” Gordon said. “So, if you like animals, a big one that we have this year, and that’s one of the board members’ favorites, and my favorite. We’re just interested to see those little critters, and we think they’re going to be entertaining too. We have something for everybody. We’ve got rides, we’ve got food, we’ve got concerts.”
You really otter see them!
Maryland State Fair admission prices are: Adults (ages 12-61) $15; Seniors (ages 62+), $12; Children (Ages 6-11), $10; Children ages 5 and under, free admission. Rides are individually priced. Check out the Maryland State Fair website for advance discount ticket sales and other discounts.
