Harness Racing and More at Skowhegan State Fair
Summer Fun at Maine Fair: Horse Racing, Carnival Rides, and Music
Feb 26, 2009
Kids, moms, dads, and grandparents can all find entertainment and education at the Skowhegan State Fair. There's nothing like the pleasures of being at a fair on a bright summer day under cloudless blue skies—it keeps the child alive in all of us.
The Skowhegan State Fair unfolds its ten days of fun during the second week of August, a prime summertime slot. The fairgrounds are conveniently located on US Route 201 in Skowhegan, Somerset’s county seat.
Over 70,000 people attend each year. Admission is $6 weekdays and $8 weekends; parking is $4 for the day. Gates open early (7:00am), with exhibition halls and the midway gearing up late morning. Camping is permitted (apply via the fair’s website).
Maine Harness Racing
Skowhegan State Fair is part of the US Trotting Association (USTA), the governing body for harness racing for the nation. The fair includes seven days of racing, both pace and trot, plus pari-mutuel betting. Post times alternate between afternoons (1:00) and evenings (7:00) each day.
All-age track records include:
Pace: 1:54.1 in 2008 by Rain Train
Trot: 1:59.3 in 2005 by Pembroke Marvel
The USTA honored the Skowhegan State Fair in 2003 with its Blue Ribbon Fair award to recognize the fair’s outstanding harness racing program.
Fun for Everyone in the Family
- Carnival rides on the midway: ranging from gentle to scary (such as The Freak Out or Remix)
- Games of chance and skill
- Daredevil stunts and demolition derbies
- Food: dough boys, french fries, batter-fried seafood, sausage sandwiches, ice cream, fudge
- Exhibition halls: 4-H, Maine Granges, food and craft contests
- Livestock shows: cattle, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, poultry
- Petting zoo
- Farm machinery museum
- Tractor pulls and draft horse pulls
- Harness racing
- Evening grandstand entertainment: country music groups (nationally known and the up-and-coming)
The Oldest Fair Began in Pre-Civil War Days
The Skowhegan State Fair began in 1819 as the Somerset Central Agricultural Society, when Maine was still part of the state of Massachusetts (Maine achieved statehood in 1820). It is the oldest continuous running fair in the US. It’s never been canceled!
Agricultural fairs were created to support family farms and homemaking activities. Fairs provided a way to share knowledge, take a peek at the latest equipment, and compete with neighbors in a friendly way.
Maine hosts about 25 fairs each year. Here’s a sample:
- Bangor: late July
- Skowhegan, early August
- Union: mid August
- Windsor: early September
- Fryeburg: early October
The Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs provides links to its 25-member fairs at its website, so visitors can find a great fair for the whole family to attend.
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