Nebraska state fair - wikipedia Nebraska state fair Coordinates : 40 ° 50 ′ 08 '' N 96 ° 41 ′ 14 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.8356 ° N 96.687176 ° W ﻿ / 40.8356 ; - 96.687176 The Nebraska State Fair is a state fair held annually in Grand Island. It is an approximately eleven - day event ; since the early 1990s, the fair ends on Labor Day. Prior to 2010, the fair was held in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska State Fair, Lincoln, 1950 Contents 1 History 2 Popular culture 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History The first state fair was a territorial fair held September 21 -- 23 in 1859 in Nebraska City. The next fair was held in Nebraska City on October 7 -- 9, 1868 ; this was the first fair held after Nebraska became a state. Nebraska City also hosted the 1869 fair. In 1870 and 1871, it was held in Brownville. From 1872 until 1901 the fair switched back and forth between Lincoln and Omaha. In Omaha it was held at the Omaha Driving Park in North Omaha. The Knights of Ak - Sar - Ben ( `` Nebraska '' spelled backwards ) was formed in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to keep the fair in Omaha. In 1901, the Nebraska Legislature named the Lancaster County Fairgrounds in Lincoln as the official home. Struggling with lowered attendance, the Nebraska State Fair was thought by some to be threatened with termination in the early years of the new millennium. It was added as a voluntary donation recipient to the annual state income tax and attendance rose enough in subsequent years to give it a second wind. In 2008 the Nebraska state lawmakers decided ( LB1116 ), with the help of the University of Nebraska, which wanted the land cleared for a new Nebraska Innovation Campus, to move the fair to Grand Island. Several citizens filed a legal challenge to the law, contending that it `` created a special benefit '' for some of the groups and people involved in the plan. However, in May 2010 the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected those arguments and upheld an earlier dismissal of the lawsuit. There was also an attempt to overturn the state law by referendum, but the petition drive failed to get enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The state allocated $42 million to construct new facilities in Grand Island, building adjacent to the city 's existing county fairgrounds, arena, and horse track at Fonner Park and the Heartland Event Center. Popular culture In The Wizard of Oz, the hot air balloon that had transported the Wizard to the Land of Oz -- and which was to take him, Dorothy, and Toto to Kansas -- has `` State Fair Omaha '' prominently written on it, as Omaha was one of the rotating host cities of the Fair until 1901. The movie is based on the 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. See also Bob Devaney Sports Center Ice Box State Fair Park Arboretum North Omaha, Nebraska References Jump up ^ Andreas ' History of the State of Nebraska - State Societies Jump up ^ Official history of the fair Jump up ^ Journal - Star, January 31, 2010 Jump up ^ The Independent, May 29, 2010 Jump up ^ KMTV Action 3 News, May 28, 2010 Jump up ^ Board of Regents resolution, June 13, 2008 Jump up ^ Nebraska Pulse, Sept. 4, 2008 External links Nebraska State Fair Knights of Ak - Sar - Ben Nebraska State Fair Ak - Sar - Ben Bridge Omaha Ak - Sar - Ben Knights Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nebraska_State_Fair&oldid=759209527 '' Categories : State fairs Nebraska culture History of Omaha, Nebraska History of Lincoln, Nebraska Tourist attractions in Hall County, Nebraska Festivals established in 1859 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 9 January 2017, at 21 : 18 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: when did the nebraska state fair move to grand island
Answer: 2010