LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas State Fair opens Friday, Oct. 16, for a 10-day run at the state fairgrounds on Roosevelt Road, and it will look different from last year in two ways that matter to anyone planning a trip.
The fair has dropped the separately ticketed national concerts that anchored opening weekend in recent years. Every act on the Main Stage this year is a local or regional performer, and all of it is included in the price of a gate ticket.
It has also quietly retired Two Dollar Day, the Monday promotion that put gate admission, parking and every ride at $2 apiece. Last year that Monday landed on a local high school skip day and ended with Arkansas State Police saying at least 30 people faced charges after fights on the midway. In its place, the fair’s published calendar lists a Monday Family Fun Day on Oct. 19 with $2 rides, free parking and free gate admission for children 12 and under. Adults still pay to get in.
The fair runs through Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2600 Howard St. in Little Rock. Gates are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. This year’s slogan is “Big Flavors. Big Rides. Even Bigger Fun.”
“There’s just something special about fair time in Arkansas,” Tiffany Wilkerson, the fair’s president and general manager, said in the announcement. “For generations, families have come together for the food, the rides, the animals and all the fun that only comes around once a year.”
What it costs
Advance tickets are cheaper and the deadline is Thursday, Oct. 15. Through that date, adult admission is $10 and admission for children ages 6 to 12 and seniors 60 and older is $6. At the gate during the fair, those prices go to $15 and $8. Children 5 and under are free. Groups of 20 or more pay $7 a person.
Unlimited-ride bands are $30 in advance and $37 at the fair. Parking is $10.
Advance tickets and ride bands are sold through the fair’s website, arkansasstatefair.com. The fair says all tickets, wristbands and coupons expire after the last day.
The cheapest ways in
The fair’s daily promotions page lists a discount for nearly every day. Among them:
Lunch at the Fair, presented by Entergy, gives free parking and free gate admission on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. That covers Oct. 16 and Oct. 19 through 23.
On opening day, Oct. 16, Arkansas Scholarship Lottery recipients get half-price admission.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, children 12 and under get in free from 11 a.m. to 12:32 p.m. for the Power 92 Power Pack, and Arvest customers and employees get $2 off.
On Sunday, Oct. 18, fairgoers who show an Ambetter insurance card get $2 off.
On Monday, Oct. 19, children 6 and under ride the kiddie rides free from 9 to 11 a.m., and adults who bring them get in free during that window with parking included. The $2 rides and free gate admission for children 12 and under run all day.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Military Appreciation Day, military personnel and up to four immediate family members get in free with a valid ID.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, Ladies Night Out, women 21 and older get in free from 6 to 9 p.m.
On Thursday, Oct. 22, College Night, college students with a school ID get in free from 6 to 9 p.m.
On Friday, Oct. 23, School Day, admission is $3 for ages 3 to 12.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, FFA, FCCLA, Scout and 4-H members, along with their teachers, sponsors and bus drivers, pay $3 until 5 p.m. Entergy employees get $2 off.
Each day is also a Ride Band Day sponsored by a local radio or TV station, meaning the unlimited-ride armband is sold at midway ticket booths from 11 a.m. to close. Gate admission and parking are not included in the armband. The fair says promotions are subject to change.
Who is playing
The Main Stage schedule, all at 7 p.m. unless noted:
Friday, Oct. 16: Arthur Young, with DJ Dr. Feelgood of Power 92.
Saturday, Oct. 17: The Ultimate Soul Experience featuring Haywood King and Roosevelt Harris.
Sunday, Oct. 18: Los Terribles del Norte 40 Aniversario, presented by La Zeta 106.3.
Monday, Oct. 19: DJ Deja Blu.
Tuesday, Oct. 20: Central Arkansas Fermenters Homebrew Awards.
Wednesday, Oct. 21: Line dancing with DJ Deja Blu.
Thursday, Oct. 22: Karaoke with YK Tha DJ and DJ Cells.
Friday, Oct. 23: Makiyah Mustiful, with DJ Dr. Feelgood of Power 92. The Talent Showdown finals start at 4 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 24: Heath Sanders, with special guest Abbey Pierce.
Sunday, Oct. 25: Impacto Elegante with DJ Jonathan, at 6 p.m.
Last year’s opening weekend featured Trey Songz, Lonestar with David Lee Murphy and 38 Special, each requiring a concert ticket on top of admission. The fair said in September that it is replacing that model with “a rotating lineup of local and regional talent” throughout the run.
The Bud Light Pavilion will show college football on Saturdays and pro football on Sundays, with The Blues Directors Band playing there at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19.
New on the grounds
Two rides are new to the midway this year, the Downdraft and the Super Miami. The midway is operated by North American Midway Entertainment, which ran 49 rides at the fairgrounds last year.
The fair is adding The Flight Deck, an interactive aviation exhibit put together with the U.S. Air Force, and Blake’s Hard Cider Saloon.
The Hiland Dairy Fun Zone runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily with three rotating shows. The Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, a competitive lumberjacking act, and Hoop You, which mixes circus-style performance with dance and hula hoops, are both new. Sea Lion Splash returns. The lumberjack show runs at 12:30, 3 and 5:30 p.m. Hoop You runs at noon, 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. The sea lions perform at 1 and 6 p.m., with a 3:30 p.m. show added on weekends and Monday, Oct. 19.
The Museum of Discovery is on the grounds every day with open play, and it adds its Awesome Science Show at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on weekends and Friday, Oct. 23. Arkansas Made vendors are in the Arts and Crafts Building from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Oct. 24 and until 5 p.m. on closing day.
Opening day begins with the Great Corn Dog Countdown at 10:59 a.m., when a giant corn dog is lowered at the gate while the Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School band and cheerleaders perform. On Tuesday, Oct. 20, at noon, five local celebrities face off in Corn Dogs for Charity in the food court in front of the pavilion, with $1,000 going to the winner’s charity.
Livestock and competitions
The livestock show, the reason the fair exists, runs the full 10 days with goats, rabbits, poultry, hogs and cattle judged in the barns and in Barton Coliseum. The Sale of Champions is Friday, Oct. 23, in the coliseum, with the Parade of Champions at 11 a.m. and the sale at noon.
The Fair Queen Pageant opens on Oct. 16 and concludes Oct. 18. The Rodeo Queen competition holds its modeling, speech and interview round at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Arkansas Building and horsemanship at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 in the Equine Arena, with the crowning that afternoon in the coliseum.
Creative arts judging in the Arts and Crafts Building includes the adult open bake on Oct. 17, the Tim Clement Memorial coconut cake on Oct. 19, the Arkansas Farm Bureau coconut pie on Oct. 21, the Arkansas CattleWomen’s chili cook-off on Oct. 22, and a hot dog eating contest at 1:15 p.m. Oct. 24.
Curfew and security rules
The youth curfew the fair first imposed in 2023 remains in place. After 6 p.m., anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult 21 or older to enter the fairgrounds. Staff may ask for ID, and a minor without ID and without an adult will not be admitted after 6 p.m. The fair says it reserves the right to remove unaccompanied minors after that hour. Credentialed youth livestock exhibitors wearing a designated wristband are exempt.
Everyone entering passes through a walk-through metal detector and all bags are inspected. Bags larger than 12 by 12 by 6 inches are not allowed, and the fair’s list of prohibited bags includes backpacks, clear backpacks, fanny packs, drawstring bags and camera cases. Weapons are banned regardless of whether the carrier has a concealed carry permit. Outside food and drink, selfie sticks, drones and pets other than service animals are also prohibited.
Last year’s numbers
The 2025 fair drew 473,601 people over 10 days, down from 550,899 in 2024, according to figures the fair released at its close. A storm front forced a brief closure on the final Saturday. The fair’s record is 554,291, set in 2023, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Wilkerson told the trade publication Carnival Warehouse this spring that the fair counted 17 arrests and 14 ejections on last year’s Two Dollar Day, that the incidents were isolated, and that the midway closed 30 minutes early. “We’re reevaluating that promotion,” she said. Arkansas State Police, which patrols the fair along with Little Rock police, put the number facing charges at 30 or more. Both the fair and state police said no guns were found on anyone arrested or removed.
The fair is put on by the Arkansas Livestock Show Association, a nonprofit that has run it since the first show in North Little Rock in 1938. It moved to the Roosevelt Road site in 1945, and Barton Coliseum was dedicated in 1952. The fairgrounds were added to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 2022.
The association is also defending two lawsuits filed in December in Pulaski County Circuit Court. In one, board member Rick Edwards and Roy Spann say the association wrongly denied their Freedom of Information Act requests for financial records by claiming it is not a government body. The association has asked a judge to dismiss that case, arguing the open records law does not apply to it. In the other, former pageant director Joan Warren says she was removed from the board of governors without being told.
More information, including the full daily schedule, is at arkansasstatefair.com or by calling 501-372-8341.
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