Some states declined to participate, citing partisan nature of event
President Donald Trump had promoted the Great American State Fair as “the most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen,” the Guardian reported. “It’s gonna be great,” Trump said on the opening night. “It’s gonna be unbelievable.”
But in the fair’s first days, the National Mall, transformed into a village of tented pavilions representing states and territories, drew fewer visitors than organizers expected. By Friday morning, Dave Forster, 63, who traveled from Washington state to Washington DC for the anniversary, was unimpressed. “They’ve had how long?” Forster told the Guardian. “It’s just a total disappointment.” Forster said many state offerings “sucked.”
Temperatures in Washington were expected to exceed 100°F (37.8°C). According to NBC Washington, more than a dozen people were treated for heat illness and injury at the state fair before it closed, and 11 people were taken to the hospital. “Attention,” blared the speakers at one point. The event was postponed, and guests were told the site would reopen after 5 p.m.
Inside the Arkansas pavilion, a host offered cooling towels and fans as prizes in a sweepstakes. “Did you hear about the sweepstakes?” she asked visitors, the Guardian reported. “You get a cooling towel, or a fan.”
Several states opted not to participate or made minimal investments in their pavilions. Oregon said the event “was shaping up to be a more partisan affair” than initially presented, according to the Guardian. The California pavilion contained only a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge and a television showing the state’s location on Google Earth. “They didn’t get any money for theirs, either,” one woman said as she walked into and out of the pavilion.
The fair also faced a series of negative headlines. Images of the Confederate flag were removed from North Carolina’s state booth. A section of the main stage fell to the floor during rehearsals, narrowly missing a troupe of dancers. Food prices included turkey legs for $23 and “red, white and blue” ice for $7, the Guardian reported.
Messages that visitors scrawled on the walls of the Washington DC pavilion reflected the nation’s political divisions. “America is back!!” read one. “Trump 2028,” read another. “LETS ALL GET ALONG,” implored a third. Others wrote “FREE DC!” “Release the Epstein Files,” and “No kings.”
James Bytner, from Virginia, who said he had been in Washington for the nation’s 204th anniversary 46 years earlier, was more positive. “I love it,” he told the Guardian. “It means freedom. It means we can walk around and do what we want to do.” As jets flew overhead for the day’s “Wings of Freedom” programming, Bytner shouted, “That’s why we came.”
John, a visitor from Tampa, Florida, who declined to provide his last name, said he planned to avoid politics during the holiday. “This is about as neutral as you can get it,” he told the Guardian, though he said listening to Trump’s scheduled Saturday address was “probably the very bottom of my list.”
Trump’s presence was relatively muted on the Mall, with one exception: a model of the 250-foot triumphal arch the president has proposed installing in Washington, which the Guardian said had been dubbed “Arc de Trump.” Dozens of visitors sought shade in its shadow.