Delaware State Fair — Local services in Milford

I had only went to the fair one previous time in my entire life. YEARS ago. The staff in charge of admissions did not seem friendly in the slightest until we actually got up there. The person from all 3 booths only stared at us until we picked someone. $9.50 per (adult) person didn't seem TOO terribly over priced, so I'll give them that. Once we actually got inside, it was hard to tell if anything (besides games) were open. It was about 10:30am by the time my friend and I got there. I personally wanted to ride the rides but none of them were even running a test run. In the meantime, we tried some games, which is ANOTHER thing.

The vendors from this balloon popping game are DESPERATE. The premise of the gane is that there are a bunch of balloons on the wall, and you have to pop them with darts. You don't have to pay the vendor unless you want the prize. And the size of the prize you get is dependent on how many balloons you successfully pop. The first guy offered to let us play 2 games for the price of one, regardless of if we miss or not, we are guaranteed a prize. That guy was actually being nice. He was an older gentleman, and claimed to have been doing this for 35 years, so if you want to play the balloon dart game, I suggest going to him! Anyways, the other vendors for that game tried the same deal. The second guy took a no from us, which I am grateful for, but the third guy was NOT taking a no! He tried to swindle my friend and I out of a prize she already won, and 20 bucks from BOTH of us just to get ONE Squirtle plushie, which is only a little bit bigger than the average person's head. My friend knew I really wanted to have a prize, so she paid 10 dollars fo me to have a "medium" prize, which is reality is no bigger than the small prize. He argued with me saying he wanted me to go bigger (Which of course, would cost me more money.) He gave my friend all her change back in one's when she gave him a 20 to break.

At this point, we finally found a ticket booth that had someone working in it. The intention was for both of us to buy a wristband to ride all the rides. Now, the website says its $25 regardless of the day. The sign above the ticket booth the lady is actually in, says $25 Mon-Fri. It was Friday. I go ask the lady to buy a wrist band, and she says its $30. I look up at the sign again and before I could even explain, she cuts me off saying, "Its $30" and gives me this fake smile while she nods. Wasn't happy about it, but I was in no mood to argue over an extra 5 dollars. (Even though, I really should have.)

We rode rides for the rest of the day, but the thing is, no one seemed to check wrist bands. Those who had tickets seemed to have presented them themselves. If it were like that, we could have save our $30 and just rode the rides.

All that really seemed to be at the fair were things that you would find in your mall parking lot on occassion. There WERE freakshows and a circus, and a live band, but there was no clear way to get there. I only saw these things from the top of the ferris wheel, and it didn't look like many people were there.

Overall, this year seemed like a bit of a downgrade from the last time I went. Next time, I'd save the time and money. It was fun, but it was way too expensive for what it was, and the staff wasn't exactly happy to be there, making the rides the...

I enjoyed my time at the last day of the 2025 Delaware State Fair and I am glad to see a State Fair with a good variety of 4-H and FFA exhibits on the grounds. Also a bit of interesting history as well. For example there's a placard describing its use as a POW camp during the Second World War and a bit of a "museum" in the 4-H/FFA exhibit building (more of an exhibit than a full museum, though). Getting admission at the fairgrounds is a breeze as they have self-service kiosks right outside of the main gate and the admission is very reasonable at $10/adult admission. At least during the time of day I went (late afternoon) the line to get in was also pretty quick as well. The buildings are nicely kept and look nice with some of the exhibit buildings also air conditioned. The livestock exhibit building also appear to be well-kept during fair time and had a nice variety of animals at the fair including those Blue Hens. The only weak point among the exhibits was the commercial exhibits, though I will admit that might come from my experiences with the Virginia and especially the Missouri State Fair where there's a more substantial set of commercial exhibits. One big upside is the inclusion of tents to provide a sensory break for those with sensory dysfunctions including some seating and hopefully this is something other fairs do. The carnival area is pretty nice and seemed orderly and I love the marquee they have for the main entrance to the midway. Also an interesting variety of foods available including some fried gator and if I recall an ostrich smashburger as well as a mix of standard fare and some Delaware-native vendors including the Claymont Steak Shop and the U of D Creamery. The carnival food is generally a bit pricey but there are a couple good deals like the breakfast the Delaware Farm Bureau offers ($7-8 for two pancakes, two eggs, two sausage links and two strips of bacon) - had I gotten there early I would have definitely had the breakfast. Overall the fair is an enjoyable experience, especially if either carnival foods/rides are your thing or like me you're more interested in the 4-H exhibits...

On Saturday July 26th 2024 my family & I participated in the demolition derby. After running my race we returned to our truck/trailer located in the middle of the pits. Our cooler had been opened and gone through. All our drinks were dumped and smashed all over the ground and left around our cooler for display. The occupants next to us stated two security girls on a golf cart came over opened our cooler that was on our trailer closed and searched it after we had already had it searched at check in 5 hours prior. They stated to the other occupants “ If they have a problem come find us next to the cops”. I then went to find the two ladies. As I was approaching the ladies from behind the one lady was bragging about dumping and smashing all our drinks to other staff. (All on video) I confronted them on why they felt the need to go through our cooler that had nothing around it and was on our trailer closed. The young lady stated you can’t have alcohol inside here. I then stated to the girl you were the one that checked our cooler when we came in. I then asked why she left all our empty smashed cans on the ground. She then stated “It’s your trash”. I replied you are supposed to confiscate it not litter it all over the ground. I then asked for the girls name. She would not provide her name so I could report it. Her supervisor that was in a blue shirt, then stepped in. I explained to the supervisor that the way she handled it was very unprofessional and childish. The girl then cut in and stated I’m not even 21. I then asked why she was handling alcohol. She stated “Its my job”. I explained to her you cannot just go through somebody’s cooler five hours later that is sitting unoccupied on their trailer. We then exited the fairgrounds. I understand we were not supposed to have alcohol but the way they handled it was very unprofessional and disgusting. I have everything on video and pictures. I am local and have attended the fair for over 15 years. I never want to put any business...