Our History

Always in Tampa, always in February...

In 1904 fresh blood came to the Plant hotel in the form of T.J. Laud-Brown, manager. He convinced the city fathers and the rail line they needed to bring about a South Florida Fair to be held on the grounds of the hotel.

By July of 1904 the South Florida Fair Association was formalized and plans for a new exhibition were proposed. But the excitement could not be contained in one building, there was also a stadium, coliseum, and stock stalls to be built.


After a few short years it became known as the Mid-Winter Festival. In 1915, when Articles of Incorporation for the South Florida Fair and Gasparilla Carnival were filed with the Secretary of State's office in Tallahassee, the Fair became known simply as the Florida State Fair.


Except for a couple of years during World War II, when it would have been inappropriate to hold a festival, the Fair has been held every year since its inception in 1904. In its first years, the Fair took place on a two-acre plot in downtown Tampa, near the University of Tampa. At the time, Tampa's renowned Gasparilla Parade started and ended at the fairgrounds site.

In 1975, the Florida Legislature created the Florida State Fair Authority and designated the annual event in Tampa as the official Florida State Fair. In 1976, the Fair moved to its current 355-acre site, seven miles from its original downtown location. In February 1977, the first Fair was held at its current location, at the intersection of Interstate 4 and U.S. Highway 301 in eastern Hillsborough County.


The Florida State Fair 2011 marks our 107th year!