THE GREATER JACKSONVILLE AGRICULTURAL
FAIR HISTORY:
Since
holding its first fair in 1955 with a total 45,000 visitors in attendance, the
Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair has been educating, enlightening and
informing the people of North Florida about science, the arts, agriculture and
horticulture.
The Greater Jacksonville Fair
Association is a private, 501(c)3 not-for-profit educational corporation
chartered by the state of Florida and dedicated to maintaining a high-quality
family fair.
The Fair’s original home was the
former Gator Bowl (now transformed into EverBank Stadium). However, in May of 1989, the
Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair Association broke ground on its
permanent home adjacent to its prior location. In 1990, the first Fair was held at
the new fairground facility and entertained more than 700,000 patrons.
The Fair operates under the
direction of a volunteer board of directors and volunteer membership.
Volunteers are an integral part of the Fair’s success since well over 500
volunteers participate in the development and presentation each year.
The Greater Jacksonville Agricultural
Fair is the largest fair/festival in northeast Florida. The fair has an estimated
economic impact on Duval County in excess of $10 million. The impact to the
City of Jacksonville through lease revenues, and revenues from parking during
the 11 days of the fair is annually in excess of $195,000.
The fair impacts the community in
other ways too. Since its inception, the fair has made contributions totaling
approximately $3.1 million to charitable and civic organizations. This year
marks the 69th Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair and we want you to share
in the fun!