Officials are calling this year’s Delaware State Fair a success
This year’s 10-day event welcomed over 322,000 guests according to fair officials estimates. That’s a 6% increase from last year's attendance.
Delaware State Fair Marketing & Sponsorship Manager Carly Callahan says that increase was due in part to successfully scheduling big name artists to its concert line-up.
“We had two sold out shows, of course Riley Green, he was a complete sold out sensation. And then of course Cici Winans, she was our Christian concert. ” she told DPM.
The Cici Winans show is notable, says Callahan, due to its Tuesday night placement - a day shows typically don’t sell out.
Fair vendors say the more successful entertainment events are, the better they fare, and Callahan says they are learning to adjust to concert crowds that are skewing younger.
“But we do notice that the younger ones do wait a little bit longer to purchase tickets, and so when we’re looking at our ticket sales and we’re panicking a little bit we have to remember that ” she said.
The 2025 Delaware State Fair was the 105th edition of the event, but the first to overlap with a NASACR weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, and Callahan also says that contributed to increased patronage as well.
“The Delaware State Fair, we see about 72% of in-state patrons, [but] the race fans I think are 80% out of state. And so, the overlap in demographic is not the same at all. Really what we were doing is helping each other if anything.” she said.
The Speedway’s strategy was a direct partnership with the Fair, aiming to tap into the Delaware summer tourism market, and they also reported an increase in attendance; all other key metrics either met or exceeded expectations.
Callahan confirms the fair believes part of its increase came from NASCAR patrons, typically campers, looking for something to do when no race was happening. The fair also hosted a meet and greet on opening day with NASCAR driver Ross Chastain.
Callahan says even if dates don’t overlap in the future, they anticipate future partnerships with the Monster Mile.
This years fair also saw the grand opening of the Delaware State Fair Museum, located inside the grounds' Memorial Hall, which GM Danny Aguilar says will be a permanent fixture open to the public during future events, including but not limited to future Fairs.
Callahan says the team has already begun planning for the events 106th edition in 2026.
