Great old fashioned state fair. Super nice people with a lot to offer for food and entertainment. Lots of helpful people to guide you around. The fried pickles were my favorite. read more

Went to the fair this past Saturday and overall it was an okay experience. I'm not sure if it was just because we went on a Saturday but it took us about an hour sitting in traffic before we could even park. Then it was so packed that it was hard to walk around and look at things. We saw the animals and some horse racing which was fun. I got an Italian sausage and that was cold so that was a disappointment. I would check it out again but hope for less people! read more

Fryeburg Fair - Festivals Near Me - Fryeburg, Maine

See all

Would be 5 stars if the line security person didn't tell an an obnoxious woman to cut the line! Employee soon realized things were escalating and told the woman to get in back of the line. Other than that we had a pleasant time loved some of the new food vendors that were there this year! Welcome @goudaboys! read more

See all

The Fryeburg Fair is held annually in the fall and always starts on a Sunday. Admission was $12 pp kids 12 and under free. They had an online website to buy ticket ahead of time with $2 convenience fee. They also sell weekly tickets for $80 and have certain days to buy unlimited rides bracelets. The ticket counter took cards. Parking is $10 cash with plenty of lots around. There are plenty of bathroom houses that are kept clean and stocked by attendants so bring a few dollars to tip if you like. This fair has permanent covered buildings that house various things- some have the animals, crafts and items for sale from local businesses, specialty groups related to outdoor wildlife, land management. A few raffles were going on to benefit various organizations so bring some $1s or $5s if you want to enter. Lots of food galore. So walk around first to decide. Some take cards, some are cash only. You have classic fair foods- sausage and onion, corn digs to fancier things like Steak tip Mac n cheese, lobster turnover, etc. Saw a few stands that sold cool tin cups for craft sodas that had $1 refills. My fave was the apple cider slushie just like I had in Vermont. There are opportunities to support local artisans. I bought a handmade foraging basket and pulled wool kits to make a gnome. A few of the maple farms were there with all of their goods. They had helicopter rides for $25 which would have been coll to see the foliage and the White Mountains which are nearby. It is about 15 min from Downtown North Conway, NH area that has outlets, REI, Fall foliage train ride, hotels, restaurants and more. read more

See all

1. Competent traffic control. 2. Fewer scary signs pointing out you have to go through a metal detector to get in.. Does this sound like a good place for your children? 3. In one hour and 45 minutes I saw one black woman, zero people with Hispanic appearance, zero with any evident Asian ancestry and zero people who appeared to have a foreign appearance of any kind. I'm ashamed of being a Mainer. 4. I think having a couple of places that offer healthy foods is needed. read more

The Fryeburg Fair is Maine's Blue Ribbon Classic Agricultural Fair. Founded in 1851 (according to their site, when some farmers and craftsmen decided to come together to show off some of their animals and goods to locals), it really does feel like all the best parts about Maine during one of the best seasons in Maine. For me, there's a few things I always gravitate to: Firemen's Muster on Sunday morning, the goats and rabbits for cuddles, a slice of Sunflower Farms Pizza (black olive and garlic with extra garlic powder) and a Diet Moxie from the nearby blooming onion stand, the Specialty Foods Pavilion because who doesn't love free samples, the Agricultural Exhibit because I love looking at the things people have grown in their own gardens, the sugarhouse just to inhale the delicious smell, Loretta's Kitchen to see if there are any samples, the blacksmith's to watch kiddos get a new link on their chain, the vintage machinery running... But the Fryeburg Fair has become noticeably different over the past few years though. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's changed/changing. It's becoming... more expensive? more politically affiliated? more touristy? more crowded? more commercial? more portlandy? more sanitized/sterile? It's not like things changed a hundred and eighty degrees overnight, but having gone nearly every year my entire life I've noticed incremental shifts in the culture/vibe here. After this year's fair, I'm not entirely sure this is an autumn tradition for me anymore, but I appreciate all that's been through Maine's history! read more

See all

If you are from Maine and have never been to the Fryeburg Fair, I encourage you to visit this attraction next time around. It's our favorite fair in Maine and the one that we try to visit with our kids every year. The fair operates from Sunday to Sunday the first week of October annually. Monday-Friday are typically the best days to go in terms of crowds and events. We go on Saturday and it's typically very crowded and we miss out in many of the fun events that occur during the week. There is something for people of every age. From the petting zoo for young children to Bingo games for adults, everyone in the family is sure to find something fun. As a food addict, I go for the food. One of my favorites is watching as a Maine potato is put through a machine to make chips and then thrown into a deep fryer - doesn't get any fresher than that. There are local food vendors, Smokey's Has food, and now the food truck scene has made its way in. And - no matter which direction you're coming from, you're likely to have a beautifully scenic drive to get there. read more

Fryeburg Fair - Apple Bun w/ice cream - Festivals Near Me - Fryeburg, Maine

My first experience of the Fryeburg Fair was this past weekend, it wasn't a perfect experience but it wasn't terrible either. I was forewarned about the traffic being atrocious, the crowds being plentiful, and the prices being exorbitant but I thought, "it can't be THAT bad." I was wrong. Google maps showed an hour and a half travel time, it's took over 2 and a half before we were able to park and enter the fair grounds. The road leading to the fair had almost every house on either side of the road offering parking, ranging from $10-$20 for the duration of your stay. We opted for the $20 parking as it was directly across the street from an entrance gate. $12 to enter the fair, at this point we're already down $44 and we haven't even entered the gates. The grounds are massive, I've never been to a fair this big, we were there for just over 6 hours and didn't see everything. The horse races brought me back to my childhood, we had fun betting on the races. The food vendors were plentiful, basically any kind of food you could want, it was there, but are you willing to pay $20 for Mac and Cheese with flavorless "steak tips" on top? We did and were sadly disappointed with the lack of flavor. At the end of the day I got a steak and cheese sub for $12, $5 for a small side of fries, they had no salt and the vinegar was almost gone and they wouldn't refill it. The steak was not fresh, it was flavorless "steak-ums" from the freezer, with large hunks of partially cooked onions and 2 slices of individually packaged American cheese slapped on the bun. $8 for fried dough from a truck that literally could only cook ONE at a time, the wait was extremely long and of course they take your money when you order so you can't very well leave when you're not interested in waiting more than a half hour for something you could get in 5 minutes at the next truck over. There were SO many animals to see here, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, etc. I was saddened to see that a lot of the work horses had sores and seemed a bit lame, not a good look for these handlers to be bringing unhealthy animals for thousands and thousands of people to look at. All in all. It was a very expensive, very long, very underwhelming experience. Would I go back again? Maybe. But I'd go much earlier and probably during the week and not a weekend day. read more

See all

By far my favorite fair. Lots to do-many many barns of various animals. Cows. Oxen. Rabbits. Swine. Llamas. And more. So many varieties. Lots of barns of things too-carriage museum to arts and crafts to 4H and a billion other things. Food options are great and plentiful. What are you in the mood for, they have it. Games - plenty of them. They just cost a lot for crappy prizes. Different days have different events. Check out the schedule before you make plans for the day you want to go. read more

I have been going to the Fryeburg Fair since I was a young child. My family also used to bring up our show oxen, and enter them into different events offered. Fryeburg Fair used to be the "it" fair. It had the perfect mix of old time New England fair traditions, along with the modern fun for kids and adults a-like. Over the past few years I have attended, my view of the fair has declined slightly. The biggest factor for me is the prices. The fairs used to be a place for the country folk to go and have a good time without breaking the bank. Now, it can be pricey. A simple cup of lemonade is $6. A small bag of cotton candy, $6 to $9. One positive that I noticed when I went this year was the addition of local food trucks. This is wonderful because I would much rather support a local food vendor. The addition of food trucks also give a larger selection of food, which at the fairs can be a bit redundant. Kudos to the people behind the Fryeburg Fair for bringing more local options! The other part about the fair that I don't like is how they have lost a lot of their homemade, handmade aspects. Many of the vendors at the fair sell dollar store, made in China junk. I remember as a kid seeing the older folks selling hand made knitted items, wood working goods, or home made treats. There are some places to find some local made items, but a majority are what you would find at retail stores. I am so glad though to see that many of the things I remember as a kid are still going strong at the fair. The large farm animal petting zoo for kids. The old school house. The antique barns. Lot's of farm animals. And the iconic helicopter rides. I'm still kind of mad that I'm 31 years old and STILL have yet to go out on the helicopter. I'm pretty sure I started begging my grandparents and parents at a very young age to take me haha! It's a fun fair to go to. And although there are many things I miss about the fair, I'm glad to see it is still going strong, and is still a fun place to visit with the family. Make sure you bring plenty of cash with you because it is going to be a bit pricey if you do plan to eat, shop and enjoy the entertainment. But making memories is all worth it! read more

See all

I am visiting New England to use my timeshare points before Nov 1, 2019, or lose them forever. I had 3 days, 4 nights at Steele Hill resort in New Hampshire, and the concierge there told me about Fryeburg Fair, which when she gave me printed directions, said only takes 1.5 hours to get to and is about 60 miles away. So I made the BIG mistake of attending on the only Saturday they were open, though I had only one other choice, which was Sunday. I didn't notice that on the brochure, it said that Saturday is their busiest day. Well, took me 3 hours to drive there, due to all the traffic backlog at the one or two lights each little town had, that I had to pass through driving there from Sanbornton NH. I ended up getting there at 2 pm. The worst part was 3 miles before the entrance, the single-file traffic was already backed up and barely creeping. Soooooo many times, I thought about turning back and driving 3 hours back to Sanbornton. In 40 min, I think I moved my car only 1.5 miles, according to the GPS that said I will had 35 min to wait. I decided to follow a couple of cars into what turned out to be forest side streets, that were all lined with cars. I then walked to the fair entrance, hey free parking. Closer to the entrance I saw parking in the forest for different prices from $5 to $10 and seemed to be at the whim of whoever was sitting there collecting the money, and not set by the Fair. $12 to get in, Seniors get a discount only on a certain day, which was not that day I went. I did not eat the fair food, because it was, as reviewers said, expensive. And my two favorite fair food items, I did not see at Fryeburg Fair, which is Indian Fry Bread, and onion blossom fries (whole onion cut into flower petals and fried, a beautiful work of art). I saw turkey leg for as little as $10, when it is $20 at San Diego County Fair. Oh make sure you try the maple cotton candy. It was delicious, but I am diabetic and didn't need to pay $4 for a whole one. Vendor gave me a generous amount to sample. There were lines for everything, even lines to go into the barn to see the animals and lines to get out. I did view the horse and ox pulling contests. It made me feel sorry for the animals who are made to do these feats (and treated poorly) FOR THE INFLATION OF EGO OF MAN WHEN ANIMALS HAVE NO DEFENSE AGAINST MAN'S WILL IMPOSED UPON THEM. This is a small fair for me, cos I also attend the San Diego County Fair in CA, that is about 7 times as large, and is open for all the month of June, yes 30 days. San Diego fair entrance there is $18. Parking is free if you take the provided fair shuttle, otherwise parking is $10 on the fairgrounds. I was able to cover the entire Fryeburg Fair in 3 hours, and then the long drive back to Steele Hill Resort, Sanbornton, NH. read more

See all

We DO NOT miss this fair EVER. We go every single year, with a 2020 exception. Tons of people from all walks of life and from all ages and areas descend upon the small town of fryeburg Maine usually the first week of October! We love to see the livestock, vendors, entertainers and more. We walk from animal barn to animal barn seeing the different animals and petting the ones we're allowed to. We take pictures, as you'll see below and just have a great time. The food at the fair is a whole beast on its own! We always go to a cart with poutine! We always hit the fried everything cart! Fried Oreos, fried Reese's, fried twinkies and more!! We also always do a little shopping from all the tents that work so hard to get their product to the fair! This year I got a heartland thick knit horse sweater !! I love it! The fair is a happy place and I'm so grateful to be close to it year after year! The surrounding area is also beautiful to look at!! read more

See all

If you love fairs. Really love fairs, you must check this fair out. Lots of animals, shows, music, food and rides. It's everything you think it is. Do I love it? NO!! But I go. Haha. read more

Fryeburg Fair - Games - Festivals Near Me - Fryeburg, Maine

Love the fair. been going for about 20 years. They have typical fairground food but sometimes it's really good. Love the animals the horses the horse pulls the oxen pulls, the tractors pulls. Especially love the old one lung tractors and farm equipment. There's a lot of music throughout the fairgrounds. Some big stage stuff but I really like the little performance areas. Just an all round great country fair. they have different specialty days. there's old folks days on the Tuesdays of the fair We usually go then- discounted entry. They also have vendors that sell tractors and log splitters and camping stuff and things of that sort- generators always some interesting things to look at. If you've never been check it out. read more

Love the Fryeburg Fair. Huge amount of animals to see, horses, cows, sheep's, goats, pigs an more. Tons of local crafter(great salsas an hot sauces). But my favorite thing there is SUNFLOWER PIZZA. Grow up eating it at my local fairs in CT but the Fryeburg Fair is the only place to get it now. read more

See all

The fair gives me something fun to do every year. The downside is the traffic jams that are usually backed up all the way to the state line. It's important to anticipate this if you're passing through town and make sure you've had a road break and also know the side roads by heart before you get stuck in traffic. read more

As fairs go, it's as good as it gets! Eat French fries (Stan's), fried corn on the cob, and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream (Conway Congregational Church)!!! Go to the specialty foods pavilion and buy garlic dill hotties (pickles) from Above the Dam Jams. read more

I'm one of those people who loves fair season and goes to as many as I can. Thankfully my son enjoys it as well. Out of all of them I go to I have to make sure I make it to this one. They always have great night shows and events going on each day. I live a few hours away so I can't make it to all of them, that's probably a good thing because as enjoyable as it is going to the fair it's not cheap for sure. It's nice because you can spend hours walking around checking out everything from animals to games to rides and of course the fair food. And there is a little of every kind of food it seems and you'll want to try a bunch so go hungry and load up your wallet with cash. Then if you don't want to ride on rides or waiting for a show you can gamble a little while you're here too. read more

My favorite fair to go to in Maine, been going almost every year since middle school! My favorite stop is to Beal St for their BBQ. Their steak and cheese, and their hot sausage are BOMB. read more

See all

I love this fair. It's so nice to go up to the Maine New Hampshire border at the beginning of fall and enjoy the beginning of the foliage turning. They have quite a variety of food vendors and stuff being sold. They have the horse pulling and oxen pulling that we love to watch. There are also many other competitions for adults and children. What sets them apart I believe is the harness racing that goes on. You can bet on the races and it's a lot of fun to watch. We camped up there this year at the fair camp ground and it was extremely convenient to be able to go in-and-out of the fair whenever we wanted to. I spent a lot of time at the flower show where they display arrangements both fresh and permanent and then auction them off. It was a lot of fun and I got many nice things. The entertainment was good in the evening and the fireworks on Friday night were spectacular. I would suggest that you get there early and leave late if you are not camping on their camp grounds because the traffic can be horrendous but there's lots of parking in people's yards and close to the fair read more

Fryeburg Fair - The flower show my favorite part of the fair - Festivals Near Me - Fryeburg, Maine

See all

Love this fair. We try to plan on coming every year. A real authentic country fair that will sureLu to have you wanting to make it a family tradition read more

We have been going to the fair for years. One of the tradiations is to always get a MR AND MRS SAUSAGE SANDWICH. It is the best --- but not this year. The girl gave us both a piece of sausage that was not only dried up from being held in the pan, but was short on the bun. They use to cut the sausage so it always extended beyond the bun, but not this year. IT WAS SHORTER THAN THE BUN AND HORRABLY DRIED OUT. I am so annoyed at this because its one of the reasons we go to the fair, its like a destroyed tradition. We did notice the last few years they have been less and less into the fair meaning they havnt been decorating for fall. They use to have lines of people and all kinds of flowers, even fake pigs. Now absolutely nothing, like they dont want to be there. There was once that back tent area open so you could eat in warmth. Ok enough wining. Mr and Mrs Sausage please go back to your old ways, you will be busier read more

THE BEST FAIR AROUND, HANDS DOWN!!!!! I have been going to this fair off and on my entire life, so like 40 years. Now my son gets to enjoy the fair as I did and still do. There is so much fair food from deep fried twinkies and pop tarts to sit down restaurants like Emily's. The variety of food is incredible. The amount of rides for little kids is great, we spent almost the entire time going on kiddie rides and there were sooo many for him. He loved it. The shopping is also great, we got a winter sweater and hat, hand made in South America. The museums and agricultural events are always great. My son loved all the animals we got to see, bunnies, chickens, steer, cows, horses, sheep, etc etc. The grounds are always so clean and tidy, especially for a fair. I just love it, best fair I have ever been to. read more

Tom's Jumbo Donuts. Best f-ing donut I ever had. They've created a perfect food product! There's no way a donut can be better. The owner making small batches of dough. With the volume they're doing. Your guaranteed a hot donut! read more

Fryeburg Fair - Tom and Deb's perfect donuts! - Festivals Near Me - Fryeburg, Maine

I have been going to the Fryeburg Fair since I was a kid, so for about 30 years. It's always been one of the best fairs around (there are A LOT of fairs in Maine and NH) with so many animals, decent rides, great expos, vendors and food. I will say that I was a little disappointed this year in a few things. The price for rides is really expensive. Tickets are $1 each and some of the bigger rides for the older kids (ages 8+) are 6 tickets per ride, so it would cost $6 to ride one ride. That's completely outrageous. A sheet of 40 tickets was $25 (so $0.62 per ticket) and you can get on less than 8 rides for that. Seems a bit overprices for fair rides. I suggest going on a day when you can get a bracelet for $20 (check their website) and ride unlimited rides. We purchased our 2 year old a $15 bracelet which he could use on the kiddie rides, but only until 6pm (seriously?). If a parent wants to assist their child on a ride, the parents must buy a single ticket (example, the merry go round which doesn't have seat belts or the large slide). I think this is an obnoxious policy. I'm not going on the ride for my enjoyment, I'm going on for the safety of my child so he doesn't fall, hit his head and you have to shut down the ride and wait for an ambulance. Please Fryeburg Fair, stop this greedy practice. Games are the standard price of $3, which I also think is overpriced. It was $1 when I was a kid (a carnie actually ARGUED this with me when I mentioned it to my brother in coversation). I just think paying $12 for a family of 4 to play a 30 second water gun game is silly. Especially when the prizes are just ugly stuffed animals. The animals, as usual, were beautiful. So many to see, very well taken care of, you could see the pride in the faces of their caretakers. We saw pigs, goats, sheep, horses, oxen, cows. My toddler was delighted to see all of them in person. There was some great live music being played. Really good vendors, we bought a few things while there. Prices were good and most items were of good quality. Lots of good machinary to look at and inquire about. Spoke with a really nice man about purchasing a new, zero turn lawn mower. There were an insane amount of food stands to choose from. Anything you could have wanted was there. Unfortuntaely I got the worst steak and cheese of my life - they used pump nacho cheese (DISGUSTING) on it. So ask before you order. I didn't because I never would have imagined someone using nacho cheese on a steak and cheese sub. We also ordered a $9 lemonade where it said the refills were $5. When we went back for a refill they charged us another $9, saying that the $5 refills were for the "other" lemonade. I took a photo of the sign to show to the fair front office because they were definitely tricking people into buying their lemonade. Overall, this was an okay fair. It's declined since I was a child, but it seems everything has. We would go back, but would make sure that we go on the days in which we can buy all the kids a bracelet for the rides. read more

See all

I love the Fryeburg Fair - apple crisp, sausages, llamas, specialty food pavilion, onion rings, goats, bunnies, Christmas trees, people watching, games, apple cider, chickens, ducks, maple barn. Costs $11 to get in, I think it is worth it. Just make sure you park where you can get in and out early, the traffic can get crazy. read more

A nice state fair. You will need a few days to enjoy it, and a little patience too. It is crowded, especially on Woodsmen Day, but there is room for everyone. We love the Skillet Toss and Firemen's Muster. Specialty Foods building is great too. Go enjoy yourselves! read more

I'm a little disappointed in the fair this year...There were not too many rides at all. The only reason I'm even giving it three stars is there were such amazing animals to check out and they all were taken such good care of. That was the best part of the entire fair! There is just not enough fair rides...That was always one of the best thing at the fair to do!! read more

Loved the nut display. Sweet and hot cashews to die for!! Not for the faint of heart! Delicious!!

Hadn't been to the Fryeburg Fair in a few years and was disappointed in it this year. Just didn't have that much to see.