State fairs everywhere

August is the month when millions of Americans flock to fairgrounds to celebrate their state's agriculture and industry with two weeks of fun, friendly competition, lots of good things to eat and nearly nonstop excitement. But not Pennsylvanians.

Although Keystone State residents can look forward to the Pennsylvania Farm Show held each January in Harrisburg, not to mention the plethora of county and local fairs that will be mounted around the state in the coming weeks, there is no single statewide event that generates anything like the same frenzy of energy as state fairs in many other, and all of our bordering, states do.

For example, the New Jersey State Fair started Thursday in the Garden State Park near Cherry Hill and continues through Aug. 8.

And this Friday, the 149th Ohio State Fair opens its two-week run in Columbus. In addition to raucous crowds surging on the midway, farm exhibits, livestock contests, homemade food to judge and eat, folk music, dancing, arts, crafts, games of chance, parades, stump speeches and fireworks, there will be a blast of big name entertainment. Three Dog Night, Blood Sweat & Tears, Alabama, Vince Gill, George Jones, Def Leppard and the Spinners are scheduled to perform at the Celeste Concert Center. Tickets for some of the musical events are free; others range from $18 to $25.

The Wisconsin State Fair, which is also celebrating its 149th anniversary, will be running during the same two weeks in Milwaukee. The Temptations, Wynonna, Steve Miller, Wayne Newton, the Isley Brothers, Kenny Rogers, the Boxtops, Gary Lewis and Herman's Hermits are all scheduled to perform.

West Virginia's state fair will start on Aug. 13 in Fairlea, down in the southeast corner of the state. The entertainment lineup includes KC & the Sunshine Band, Billy Ray Cyrus, the Beach Boys, Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis. There will be antique-tractor pulls and daily harness racing, draft-horse pulls and Hollywood stunt shows.

There's a similar schedule of entertainment at the other state fairs. Here's a quick rundown of where and when they happen.

In addition to West Virginia, state fairs kick off Aug. 13 in Indianapolis; DeMoines, Iowa; Springfield, Ill.; and Sedalia, Mo. On Aug. 19, fair festivities get rolling in Louisville, Ky.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Pueblo, Colo.

And the summer state fair season hits full stride the weekend of Aug. 26 with fairs in St. Paul, Minn.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Salem, Ore.; Palmer, Alaska; Timonium, Md.; and Detroit. All run through Labor Day.

Then there's the big daddy of state fairs, or rather the Big Tex. The Texas State Fair attracts some 5 million visitors to Dallas between Sept. 24 and Oct. 17. Among the many attractions scheduled at this year's Big Tex is a collection of robots from the Carnegie Science Center. There also will be a display that consists of a life-sized street scene populated by human statues sculpted from a giant block of butter.

Needless to say, a day at any of these great American summer entertainment extravaganzas will be one to remember, even if you have to leave Pennsylvania to attend.

Here are starting weeks and contact information for some of the more notable state fairs. Most have runs of at least 10 days.

July 29

New Jersey State Fair, Cherry Hill: 609-662-0505; www.newjerseystatefair.com

Aug. 6

Ohio State Fair, Columbus: 888-OHO-EXPO; www.ohiostatefair.com

Wisconsin State Fair, Milwaukee: 800-884-FAIR; www.wsfp.state.wi.us

Aug. 12

Illinois State Fair, Springfield: 217-782-6661; www.state.il.us/fair

Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis: 317-927-7500; www.state.in.us/statefair

Iowa State Fair, Des Moines: 800-545-3247; www.iowastatefair.org

Missouri State Fair, Sedalia: 660-530-5600; www.mostatefair.com

West Virginia State Fair, Fairlea: 304-645-1090; www.wvstatefair.com

Aug. 19

Kentucky State Fair, Louisville: 502-367-5000; www.kyfairexpo.org

California State Fair, Sacramento: 916-263-3000; www.bigfun.org

Colorado State Fair, Pueblo: 719-561-8484; www.coloradosfair.com

Aug. 26

Alaska State Fair, Palmer: 907-745-4827; www.akstatefair.org

Maryland State Fair, Timonium: 410-252-0200; www.bcpl.net/~mdstfair

Michigan State Fair, Detroit: 313-369-8250; www.mda.state.mi.us/statefair

Minnesota State Fair, St. Paul: 651-642-2200; www.mnonline.org/statefair

New York State Fair, Syracuse: 315-487-7711; www.nysfair.com

Oregon State Fair, Salem: 503-378-3247; www.fair.state.or.us

Sept. 24

Texas State Fair, Dallas: 214-565-9931; www.bigtex.com