The Kentucky State Fair is the official state fair

State fair

A state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....

 of Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 which takes place at the Kentucky Exposition Center

Kentucky Exposition Center

The Kentucky Exposition Center , formerly Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center , is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States...

 in Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

. More than 600,000 fairgoers fill the 520 acres (2.1 km²) of indoor and outdoor exhibits, eat a smorgasbord of food and ride hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping coasters during the 11-day event. The Kentucky State Fair includes competitions in crafts such as quilt-making

Quilt

A quilt is a type of bed cover, traditionally composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding and a woven back, combined using the technique of quilting. “Quilting” refers to the technique of joining at least two fabric layers by stitches or ties...

, homebrew

Homebrewing

Homebrewing is the brewing of beer, wine, sake, mead, cider, perry and other beverages through fermentation on a small scale as a hobby for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other non-commercial reasons...

 beers, and home-made pastries, as well as fine arts and agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 competitions. Exhibitor spaces are available and are popular with area and regional businesses.

The Kentucky State Fair boasts 1200000 square feet (111,483.6 m²) of indoor space that often feature exhibits that include health screenings, gravity-defying acrobats, magical illusionists, balloon sculptors and home improvement demonstrations.

The World Championship Horse Show

Horse show

A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...

 is one of the fair's most prestigious events, where attendees and horses travel from various continents. More than 2,000 elite saddlebreds compete in the World’s Championship Horse Show for more than 1.2 million in premiums and awards.

The fair was organized in 1816, just five years after the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

' first fair in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. Fayette County

Fayette County, Kentucky

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,083 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....

 farmer Colonel Lewis Sanders (no known relation to Colonel Harlan Sanders

Colonel Sanders

Harland David "Colonel" Sanders was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, now re-branded as KFC...

 of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame) was the organizer. The event did not become an official state fair until 1902. The fair moved from city to city until 1907, when Louisville became the fair's permanent home. Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...

 has hosted the fair on three separate occasions, particularly during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The fair moved to its current site at the Kentucky Exposition Center in 1956.

In both 2007 and 2008, there were 600 temporary jobs available due to the Kentucky State Fair. Due to the high turnover, as many as 1,000 people, if not more, may be hired during the fair to fill the 600 jobs. In 2008 a record turnout to apply for temporary jobs occurred.