Many families from our largest urban areas travel to Sedalia each August for the Missouri State Fair. What’s the big attraction, carnival rides and concerts? Well, the Missouri State Fair does have a great midway, but St. Louis has Six Flags and Kansas City has Worlds of Fun. And big name entertainers are booked for the Missouri State Fair grandstand, but let’s face it – St. Louis and Kansas City have big name entertainers performing year-round.
Fairgoers will hit the midway and pack the grandstands while at the Missouri State Fair to be sure, but their real reason for traveling to Sedalia in August is not for roller coasters and rock stars. What families from St. Louis and Kansas City find at the Missouri State Fair is the chance to get closer to their roots. Most of us are many generations removed from the farm, but we still like to see the cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, mules and other livestock. The State Fair gives us the opportunity to see youth in the FFA and 4-H proudly show their livestock.
Livestock shows take place in the arenas and Coliseum, but fairgoers like to parade through the barns where the livestock are housed. It is here you’ll see the animals fed, groomed and cared for by the young people who raised the animals they are showing. This is your opportunity to visit with these outstanding young people face-to-face and find answers to your questions about their livestock.
So plan a family outing this year to the Missouri State Fair, running August 11-21 in Sedalia. See the concerts, ride the rides, eat the corn dogs, funnel cakes and cotton candy, visit the air-conditioned buildings filled with displays about rural living, and go through the barns to see the livestock. Make sure, however, you take the time to talk to the people who are working and showing the animals – you’ll make friends and find out what life is really like down on the farm. That is the big attraction of the Missouri State Fair – It’s A Show-Me Thing.