YORK — In addition to moving to a new date in 2020, the York Fair will also get a name change, fair officials announced Wednesday.
Next year, the York Fair will change its name to the York State Fair, the York County Agricultural Society Board of Directors said in a press release. The board voted on the name change last week, the release says.
“We are as big as many state fairs across the country in terms of attendance, entries, entertainment, amusement rides, facilities, staffing and budget so the question became why not recognize ourselves as a state fair level event by calling ourselves the York State Fair,” said CEO Bryan Blair in the announcement. “With the Fair changing dates to July in 2020, it seemed like a perfect time to make the transition and to rebrand.
“We will still be known as “America’s First Fair” and “America’s Oldest Fair” we will just have a new look and a new name,” Blair added.
Currently there are at least 63 Fairs across the United States that use the phrase “State Fair” in their title. Blair said that approximately 42 of those events are private and/or non-profit organizations that receive no government funding or state oversight. Fairs such as the Tulsa State Fair in Oklahoma and the Greater Baton Rouge State Fair in Louisiana are privately operated and utilize the name of their city.
“We intend to be York’s “State Fair” and we will continue to operate under the authority of the York County Agricultural Society,” Blair said. “We are actively exploring ways to expand and grow the Fair to include showcasing York County to south central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland as we attempt to reach a regional audience.
“The goal is to create interest and excitement among the growing population of this region so that we can showcase to them the best that York County has to offer from an agricultural and industrial standpoint. Changing the name of the Fair to the York State Fair will certainly help us to achieve that goal as it better represents the size and scope of our event.”
This year’s York Fair will be held from September 6 through September 15 before moving to July dates in 2020.
