Nebraska State Fair — Local services in Grand Island

A must visit! 2022 is starting off AWESOME! Friday Aug. 26th 2022, was a super opening night! The fair is BACK! take a moment to browse my photos from opening evening. I tried to capture an array of the food vendors, some of the pricing, and the Midway just getting into the evening hour 'swing'. If you find this review or the pics helpful, please 'like' this review. I'd really appreciate it! Come to Grand Island and spend some time here, we'd love to have you! So many new things to see this year! Who doesn't love a fair?! Each year the fair has different concerts, attractions, events etc. The food is ALWAYS amazing! The Midway is always full of excitement and fun, especially at night with all the music and lights! The bull 'fighting' show was really great for the whole family! The fair staff is super friendly and accommodating. Layout is good and and there are trams from parking through the whole fair. If your family has any special needs, just ask the fair staff for assistance. Everyone is more than happy to help in so many ways! It's always pretty warm at fair time, but there are air conditioned buildings with picnic tables conveniently located near the food vendors to give you a place to rest and cool off. Most of the indoor events are also fully air conditioned, so that makes it nice and more tolerable if the heat spikes on the days you visit. The 4H and FFA shows are very educational and the families that show their livestock are always happy to answer questions and let you pet the animals if you ask. That in itself is a fun, interesting, learning experience for the whole family! But again, be prepared for the heat and sun and bring your sunscreen, hats and sunglasses if you visit during the day. Also be prepared for long lines at the food vendors, especially during peak hours of lunch and dinner times. Parking is laid out well and staff will direct you to areas of interest and events, so don't hesitate to ask. There are ATM machines scattered about, but they charge a higher fee so bring cash to save some money. Be prepared to pay higher 'fair' prices! Foods are wonderful but pricey so look for deals like 'free refill' slushies and drinks with certain size purchases. Delicious food is everywhere and the choices are seemingly endless! There is something for everyone, so the whole family should be happy! Mornings and evenings are nice because it's not as hot! Fair nights are our favorite time! Plenty of clean bathrooms in the buildings, and they are equipped with child diaper changing stations. There are hand sanitizing stations set throughout the fairgrounds. I love the old restored tractors that are on display, as well as all the newest John Deere and Case equiptment brought in every year! Again, each year brings something different, new attractions and events, so stay informed by looking online at the Nebraska State Fair Website. Stay safe, and have a blast making new acquaintances, friends...

For the most part I enjoyed the 2018 State Fair. It did seem to have about the same displays and exhibits as last year. There are a LOT of exhibits to enjoy, good food and good free entertainment as there were at least ten or twenty entertainment tents and entertainers out roaming around. After spending much of the day walking around and looking at stuff and watching enterainment, it was time to wind down and we visited the new party tent on the south side of the grounds. Beer was reasonably priced, good live music on a big stage and had a few side things to do like bull riding and games. All and all it is worth the trip, and I will probaly visit again before the fair runs it's course to see what I missed.

One thing I did not like about the fair was one free exhibit called the Semisaurus trailer. It was a disinformation project and there is no indication what it is before you enter the trailer. Before you go inside it appears as if it has some kind of animated dinosaurs inside, nothing is said to you or posted on the outside that it is a religious re-education display. No animated dinosaurs inside. Before entering they give you headphones for the tour and a player. Once you get inside, the door shuts, people stand in front and behind you and you are stuck inside for a while, 20 minutes or so. I turned on the player and quickly discovered that dinosaurs did indeed exist in the 1800's, and evolution and science is a big lie, as proven by the bible. I liked the semi trucks parked on top of Noah's ark! I wonder of Noah's ark had cell phones and TV? Once we and others realized that we were duped we wanted out, but it was very crowded inside and there were surveillance cameras everywhere. You can't leave for a while as people in front blocked us from leaving so you might as well put up with the recorded stories and...

We were so excited to see the concert but was extremely disappointed by the over booked, disorganized venue.

We did not enjoy the concert and probably with this experience will not attend another outdoor concert at the Nebraska State Fair.

We waited in line for an hour and a half (1.5 hours) when we got into the concert the opening act was already done playing and we were probably two hundred yards from the stage. The screens were terrible and we could not hear well. So others around us could not hear either so were visiting and laughing. Making it more difficult to enjoy.

The eight o'clock concert started at 9:20 p.m. and we walked out at 9:45 p.m. We walked back through the fair and seen it was over by 10:30 at the latest.

If you enjoy a good time out and like putting your money into good experiences...Don't plan on going to any concerts here. The staff are clueless on managing crowds and lines, I'm sure this spirals down from whoever takes charge of planning, but wow, it was a disaster! Over an hour waiting in line because the one line turned into 6 different ones merging into one. They over sold the tickets. Then 30 minutes into the concert the staff are telling people they can't stand during the concert....What the what?! It's an outdoor concert! Nowhere on their website or the tickets did it say no standing.

Bottom line, don't waste your time. It was such a disappointment. They are ill-equipped to deal with such large crowds. The entire...