Tennessee State Fair kicks off in Wilson Co.

LEBANON, Tenn. (WSMV) - ‘95 reasons to celebrate Tennessee’ is the theme for the 2022 Tennessee State Fair.

It honors all 95 counties in the Volunteer State. There are several educational attractions, including the Travel Tennessee exhibit, where you can learn about every county.

More than 60 rides will be up and running from August 18-27 and admission is half off, with one-dollar rides on opening day.

You can stop by the petting zoo to see Xenia the lemur and other exotic animals or visit the poultry barn, where hundreds of birds will be on display with an incubator where you can watch chicks hatch.

Fairgoers might see pigs, horses, cattle, and other farm animals have their babies over at the birthing barn. It’s a popular attraction and the live stream has gained millions of views from around the world.

“A lot of people haven’t seen a live birth even though dogs, kittens, and cats they all have their babies, a lot of people don’t experience that. This is something people can experience that’s new, it’s exciting. You never know what’s going to happen,” said Jennifer Apala, organizer of The Birthing Barn.

Attraction organizers say they love teaching people about life on the farm-- and where their food comes from.

“There’s people out there who think chocolate milk comes from a brown cow or pigs lay eggs or that kind of thing. So, our goal is to educate to where their food comes from and in the past 9 to 10 months, 12 months, people have actually gone into grocery stores and there wasn’t any meat or food,” said Tim Edwards, organizer of The Birthing Barn.

“But it’s not just food that comes from the farm. Your clothes, your shoes are all byproducts-- even your toilet paper is a byproduct of agriculture,” Apala said.

For more information about this year’s fair, visit here.

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