A man has visited state fairs across America. Here’s how he rates the Utah State Fair.

How does the Utah State Fair stack up against other state fairs across the country? Jim Chew, who has been to 23 in his quest to hit all 50, gives Utah a rating of seven out of 10.

That’s pretty respectable for the Beehive State, considering Chew, 76, ranked the Nevada State Fair — which he said was nothing more than a carnival park — a two out of 10.

The Utah State Fair runs through Sunday at the Utah State Fairpark, 1000 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City. Chew visited the fair on Monday, and said he found plenty that was unique about Utah’s fair — while also reflecting on his quest to visit all 50 states.

Around the country in 50 fairs

Chew loves state fairs. His whole life, he said, he’s treasured the smells, the atmosphere and the excitement.

As a teenager, he recalled, he would sneak into the Ohio State Fair in his home city of Columbus. He would hang out with the kids showing animals. Sometimes, having made friends with the kids, he would sleep the night in the hay, he said.

In 2023, about a week after he retired from managing condo associations, he realized how much time he had to fill, and realized how he could fill it with his passion.

Since then, Chew has spent one week a month during fair season, June through October, traveling the country by car, plane or train to see every state fair. Some states don’t have official state fairs, he said, so he goes to the local equivalent.

The Florida State Fair, held in Tampa in February, stood out because it featured water shows with jet skis and flyboards — devices that use a jet ski’s propulsion system to lift riders in the air with pressurized water.

Chew said his wife, who is 10 years younger than him, still works. So he usually travels alone, appreciating the chance to meet new people at fairs, in dining cars or during his other adventures.

The most interesting person Chew has met so far, he said, is a 23-year-old woman who owned the regional fair he attended in Maine. “She had just bought the fair license and the fairgrounds,” he said. “She was running the whole fair by herself.”

In each state he travels, he said he tries to do something unique outside of visiting the fair. After flying into Utah from Kansas on Saturday, Chew spent Sunday bobsledding, zip-lining and riding the alpine roller coaster at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City.

On Monday, he visited the Great Salt Lake before going to the fair.

What’s different about Utah’s fair?

The first thing Chew found at the Utah State Fair that he found unique was the fish pond, run by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The small body of water is stocked with fish, for children to try their hand at catching.

Chew said he was also interested to see the wide variety of food at the fair — particularly fare from Latino cultures.

For breakfast, Chew tried chilaquiles with eggs and guacamole. “It was a good breakfast,” he said.

Chew also tried elote, the popular Mexican street food — corn on the cob topped with cheese, mayo and spicy seasonings. That was a recommendation he got after posting on Utah-based Reddit threads, asking locals for suggestions.

“That was great,” he said of the elote, which he said was closer to creamed corn than buttered corn.

But the most unique thing Chew said he found at the Utah State Fair was a butter sculpture dedicated to the Utah Mammoth hockey team. This work of refrigerated art features a cow, a cat, a goat, a pig, a mouse and a referee — all made of butter — caught in an unruly hockey brawl.

23 fairs down, 27 to go

Chew left Utah on Tuesday, headed back home to Columbus for the season.

He said he had planned to visit the fairs in Mississippi and Texas, both of which run into next month. However, he said, his wife has surgery scheduled for early October, so his fair adventures are over for the year.

Scheduling has become a challenge, he said, because he’s already checked off many of the fairs that run outside of August.

Chew said he still has big plans for 2026: Flying to Toronto and taking a train to Vancouver, British Columbia, then flying to Alaska, for the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. The trip will likely push him past his usual weeklong trip timeframe.

“That should be fun,” he said.

The Utah State Fair continues through Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Utah State Fairpark, 1000 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets are available at the fair’s website, utahstatefair.com. Highlights include two concerts this week in the Days of ‘47 Arena (separate tickets required): ‘90s rock band Third Eye Blind on Wednesday night, and comedian Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias on Thursday night.