One of the greatest days in the history of Tennessee will occur on Thursday, Aug. 12 when the new Wilson County Fair –Tennessee State Fair opens for the first time.
A Grand Opening Celebration will occur on Aug.12th at 6:00 p.m. in the Farm Bureau Expo Center when our entire state will come together for the special ceremony. Every county in the state will be represented for a special program where Gov. Bill Lee will be speaking. The ceremony will celebrate the state of Tennessee and the previous Tennessee State Fair Board moving the location to the Wilson County Fair in Lebanon.
Each day of the fair will honor Hometown Heroes with Books From Birth County Directors from across the state being honored by Governor Lee at the opening ceremony. Following the ceremony will be a military fly-over followed by a parade honoring Hometown Heroes.
The parade will be led by Governor Lee in a mule drawn wagon followed by Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Charles Hatcher in an antique truck and Commissioner of Tourism Mark Ezell on a Tennessee Walking Horse. This will commemorate the Wilson County Fair – Tennessee State Fair’s strong agricultural roots.
The parade will feature representatives from all the 95 counties of Tennessee, floats honoring Hometown Heroes, bands and much more. The Tennessee Farm Bureau, which has offices in all 95 counties, will have representatives from each county at the program, in the parade and will be part of Thursday night’s fair. All 95 Tennessee counties have been asked to exhibit two items in the Farm Bureau Expo Center showcasing the assets of their county and representing their county pick of Tennessee Products.
At 8:00 p.m. a ground breaking will be conducted at the Made In Tennessee Building where Governor Lee and other leaders will participate. This new building will be finished for the 2022 Wilson County Fair – Tennessee State Fair. The new building will be the home of competition from the 2021 County Fairs and County Events in some 40 categories where they bring their first place or best of show winners to compete. The building will also feature displays to showcase each of our 95 counties in the state of Tennessee. On Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 7:00 p.m. the ground breaking of the new Agricultural Learning Center, to be constructed in the Livestock Area, will be held.
This year’s fair will also celebrate the 225 Years of Tennessee Statehood with Untold Stories of Tennessee being told by storytellers each day in the Pioneer Village Fiddlers Grove.
Randall Clemons, President of Wilson County Fair – Tennessee State Fair, stated, “We are very excited about the future of the Tennessee State Fair as our entire state comes together for 10 great days of celebration. We want this fair to showcase agriculture of our entire state as well as the assets of all 95 counties. Our fair has been made possible for the last 42 years by 1,600 volunteers and we hope the future will involve volunteers from all counties of our great state.
“We are very thankful for the support we have received from everyone in making this new fair possible. We invite everyone to celebrate with us Aug. 12-21 at the 2021 Wilson County Fair – Tennessee State Fair with the theme Honoring Hometown Heroes.”
