Jacksonville Fair

It is Jacksonville's annual November agricultural fair, produced by a nonprofit that acquired its fair charter from the State of Florida in 1955.

The history comes from a March 24, 2025 presentation by the fair's president and chief executive to the City of Jacksonville's Southeast Citizens Planning Advisory Committee, as recorded in the City's meeting summary. He told the committee that a nonprofit fair charter was acquired from the State of Florida in 1955, that the original fairground was at the Gator Bowl, and that the emphasis at the time was on livestock exhibitions and clean family fun. The operator is the Duval County Fair Association, which the City's legislation also names.

The agricultural side is still central. The fair's own FAQ says it holds open and youth contests and competitions each year in categories that include art and woodworking, publishes a premium book for contests, competitions and exhibitions, and runs livestock and judging shows. General admission includes access to the animals in the fair's new barn on the Westside grounds, along with food vendors, eating competitions and free grounds entertainment.

Outside the fair itself, the association rents its grounds for other events; its site lists venue rental inquiries, and the City of Jacksonville's special events venue list includes the Jacksonville Fairgrounds as a fairground and expo center at 13601 Normandy Boulevard.

The fair's FAQ says the 71st Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair runs November 5 to 15, 2026, at its new home on Jacksonville's Westside, 13601 Normandy Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32221.

That makes 2026 the first fair at the Westside grounds. The fair calls the site its spacious new home, and its ticket page describes the 11-day run as November 5 through 15. The fair's box office is at the same Normandy Boulevard address and, according to the FAQ, is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ahead of the fair; during the fair, tickets are also sold at box offices at the main entrance and inside Duval Hall.

The Jacksonville Fair ticket prices below are the fair's own, as posted on its ticket page on October 18, 2026. Advance prices apply through November 4, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.; after that, tickets are full price.

Each Jacksonville Fair general admission ticket is good for any one day of the fair. Daily gate hours were not posted on the FAQ or ticket page when checked, so visitors should confirm them on the fair's daily schedule before going.

General admission covers the gates, grounds entertainment, stages, the Duval Hall Expo, food vendors and the barn, but not rides, concerts, food or shopping.

According to the fair's ticket page, the $25 JaxFair Mega Pass combines a ride armband with gate admission for any one day and gives access to the majority of unlimited mechanical rides, plus free grounds entertainment, the 904 Soundstage, the Duval Hall Stage, the Duval Hall Expo, the food vendors, the Marketplace, eating competitions and the barn. Advance general admission tickets include the same things except rides. The Spaceport and Mr. Chubby's Wing Wheel require a separate ticket.

Rides can also be bought once inside. The FAQ says guests must first buy a general admission ticket at the front gates, then can buy a one-day ride pass or individual ride tickets at the ticketing kiosks of the fair's ride partner, Deggeller Attractions. JAX Amphitheater concert tickets are sold separately and include admission to the fair, and the ticket page says the fair is bringing 11 days of back-to-back national acts to its new amphitheater from November 5 to 15, 2026.

The Jacksonville Fair's rules are strict on refunds and security. The FAQ says all sales are final and tickets are non-refundable unless an event is canceled in its entirety. Its security program includes walk-through metal detectors at all entry gates, and bags, purses, coolers and packages are subject to search at each entrance.

The fair began at the Gator Bowl and in 1990 moved to the Jacksonville grounds it used until the move to Normandy Boulevard.

The City's record of the March 2025 Southeast CPAC meeting says that in 1990 the fairgrounds moved to their then-current location, where the Duval County Fair Association owned 15 acres and leased an additional 15 acres during the fair. The same summary says that in January 2026 the fair would relocate to the Westside, next to the Jacksonville Equestrian Center at 13611 Normandy Boulevard, and that construction on the new facilities began in early spring 2025.

Those statements are the fair's account as summarized by City staff, and they were made before the move. The fair's current FAQ confirms the outcome: it calls 13601 Normandy Boulevard the fair's new home and says the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair is now located there. The fairs held before 2026 at the earlier grounds are past events, and the 2026 fair is the first on the Westside.

Because this check relied only on the City of Jacksonville record and the fair's own pages, details found only in news coverage, such as attendance at the first fair, the sale price of the earlier grounds and the buyer's plans for them, are not repeated here.

In May 2024 the Jacksonville City Council enacted Ordinance 2024-0285-E, letting the City lease about 82.37 acres next to the Equestrian Center to the Duval County Fair Association for 30 years at nominal rent.

The Jacksonville Council legislation record shows the ordinance was introduced on April 9, 2024, and given final action on May 14, 2024, and lists its status as enacted. Its title authorizes the Mayor to execute an amended and restated redevelopment agreement and an amended and restated ground lease with the association, which indicates that earlier versions of both agreements existed. The main terms in the title are summarized below.

The size of the main building differs between City records. The ordinance describes an 80,000 square foot exposition hall, while the March 2025 CPAC summary records the fair describing a 77,500 square foot expo hall, office space and an amphitheater stage. The address also differs slightly: the ordinance and the CPAC summary give the land as 13611 Normandy Blvd., the Equestrian Center's address, while the fair and the City's venue list use 13601 Normandy Boulevard for the fairgrounds.

The fairgrounds sit beside the City's Jacksonville Equestrian Center, which the City's venue list describes as eighty acres of horse paradise at 13611 Normandy Blvd.

The City of Jacksonville's special events venue list names both the Equestrian Center and the Jacksonville Fairgrounds as separate venues side by side on Normandy Boulevard. The two work together during the fair. The fair's FAQ says the Equestrian Center has RV parking spots for fair vendors, at flat rates of $1,500 for a full hook-up with power, water and sewer and $1,000 for a primitive site, and it lists a Horses and Heroes Rodeo on November 6 and 7, 2026. The ticket page says the rodeo is brought to the fair by the Jacksonville Equestrian Center with H.O.R.S.E. Therapies.

The largest new structure for visitors is the JAX Amphitheater. The fair's FAQ calls it a 10,000-capacity venue and says the fair is bringing eleven consecutive days of national acts to it, with concert tickets that include fair admission. Inside, the fair lists the 904 Soundstage, the Duval Hall Stage and the Duval Hall Expo, and says complimentary Wi-Fi is available for inside vendors in Duval Hall Expo.

Vendors can rent equipment as well: the FAQ lists 6-foot or 8-foot tables for $15 each and chairs for $10 each, a flat rate covering all 11 days of the fair. The fair's directions and parking page is the place to check before driving out Normandy Boulevard.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, by re-reading the Jacksonville Fair's FAQ and ticket pages, the City Council's legislation record for Ordinance 2024-0285-E, the City's March 2025 Southeast CPAC meeting summary, and the City's special events venue list.