Something old, something new at Nevada's 125th State Fair

Visitors to this year's fair Aug. 25-29 will see similar exhibits of locally grown produce, livestock and homemade items ranging from knitwear to jams and jellies.

There were no midway rides or country music stars at the first fair, but there was musical entertainment, including a joint concert featuring the Winnemucca Brass Band and the Reno Cornet Band.

There were no daredevils or demolition derbies, but there was a marksmanship competition between local militia organizations such as the Emmet Guard from Virginia City and Company C of the Reno Guard.

The first fair - like today's - also featured the Womens' Christian Temperance Union with a "Temple of Temperance" on display.

And a Sacramento furniture dealer John Bruener made the arduous journey over the Sierra with a large exhibit of his wares.

"The State Fair is a unique blend of family-oriented entertainment and modern-day fun and excitement," said Gary Lubra, chief executive officer.

"There is nothing anywhere like a good old-fashioned fair to bring people together," he said.

Organized by the Nevada State Agricultural, Mining and Mechanical Society, the first fair was held in a location well south of Reno, near what is now the busy intersection of Plumb Lane and South Virginia Street.

The fair was held in just about the same location until 1887, when the Nevada legislature appropriated $10,000 for the purchase of a land northeast of Reno, the present fairgrounds location on Wells Avenue. The next year, local supporters erected livestock sheds, put in a racetrack and built a grandstand.

Political deal-making in the Nevada Legislature resulted in the fair being moved to Fallon in 1913 and it remained there until returning to Reno in the early 1930s.

This year's fair runs the same dates as the Reno-Tahoe Open, the first PGA Tour stop in northern Nevada since Ben Hogan won the Reno Open Invitational in 1948.

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