Growing up, showing livestock in the Nevada State Fair was an annual tradition for sisters Heidi Fait and Heather Nield.

Now in their 40s, the sisters spent their childhoods showing steers, sheep and pigs at Nevada's state fair as members of 4H and the National FFA Organization, just as their mom and uncle had done before them. Their dad served on the state fair board, and their brothers also showed livestock. 

"It was something we did as an entire family," Fait said. "It's just kind of what we grew up knowing and doing. You woke up, you did your chores, you watched them be born … It was fun."

"Our family vacations were the [livestock] shows," Nield added. "That's where we got to hang out with people from all over the state, meet kids with similar interests."

The sisters aged out of showing when they turned 18, but this year, the pair are excited for their kids to show at the Official Nevada State Fair, returning Thursday to the Nevada State Fairgrounds in Reno after a 15-year hiatus.

Running through Saturday, the fair is a celebration of all things Nevada and includes a "walking tour" of the state, a local farmers market and a livestock show. The event is intended to recognize the state's agricultural roots and Western heritage, according to organizers, as well as include traditional fair attractions such as rides and fried food. 

"I'm envisioning this state fair being what it was like when we were showing," Fait said.

She's hyped her kids on the tradition of the fair — the grandeur of the event returning to the fairgrounds after a long hiatus, the Reno Rodeo following the fair just days later. And the food.

"Of course, you always look forward to the good funnel cakes," she joked.  

But the event also has ties to Nevada state law — the return of this year's fair was spurred by bipartisan legislation signed during the 2025 legislative session. And, state statute outlines the parameters for the official state fair, including requiring the approval of the state's director of agriculture.

"NRS is clear," J.J. Goicoechea, director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture, told The Nevada Independent. "We feel NRS is pretty solid on when and how it can occur."

Which makes it a little confusing that the same day the Official State Fair of Nevada returns to Reno, a Nevada State Fair is opening in Carson City. With carnival rides, vendors and games, the event, hosted by a nonprofit group, looks like a state fair and has a similar name — but lacks the animal exhibits and other contests the Reno one will, Goicoechea said.

"Ours is truly a state fair," Goiecoechea said. "It is agriculture, it is 4H, it is Grange, it is FFA, it is all 17 counties coming together to represent the state and the heritage of agriculture in our state.

"This is truly going to be a state fair."

'A place for agriculture in Nevada'

The Nevada State Fair started in Reno in 1874, and the event ran annually in the city through 1915, when it briefly moved to Fallon amid mounting debt. 

By 1919, the fair had returned to Reno, where it ran for nearly another 100 years before it was shuttered in 2011, again because of financial reasons. The cancellation ended a 136-year tradition and what was recognized as the longest-running event in the state.

In 2013, just ahead of the state's 150th birthday, a new nonprofit organization proposed to bring back a fair to Nevada — in 2016, the nonprofit launched its Nevada State Fair with support of state and local officials to celebrate "Nevada's heritage, agriculture, education, and family entertainment."

That fair has operated in the state's capital under what a spokesperson for the nonprofit said in an unsigned email attributed to the Nevada State Fair team is the "State of Nevada trademark and service mark," and this year, Nevada will boast two fairs — the official state fair and the unofficial event, both being held on the same dates.

"Our mission is to preserve and enhance the annual State Fair for the benefit of all citizens of Nevada and be a premier annual event that maximizes its resources to host a wide range of activities," according to the Carson City event's website. "To be recognized as the best State Fair in the country, showcasing the great State of Nevada's diversity in an educational and entertaining environment."

The state's efforts to bring back the fair in Reno "despite the ongoing operations, planning efforts, and contractual commitments already undertaken by the existing Nevada State Fair organization," has the Carson City-based nonprofit "concerned that these state-supported efforts risk undermining more than a decade of private investment, planning, brand development, and community-building efforts undertaken to preserve and grow the Nevada State Fair tradition," according to the group's emailed statement. "The organization further believes that the existence of competing events may create confusion among sponsors, vendors, exhibitors, and the public."

The spokesperson also said that the group "maintains its position regarding its history, operations, and stewardship of the fair's legacy," and it "remains committed to pursuing constructive dialogue and potential partnerships that support the long-term success of Nevada's state fair tradition."

Goicoechea said the state is "pursuing all options" to have just one official fair in the state.

The bill from the 2025 legislative session transferred the Nevada State Fairgrounds back to the Nevada Department of Agriculture — the department had started leasing the fairgrounds to Washoe County in the 1950s — requiring it be used, in part, for the promotion of state agriculture. The bill did not include any appropriations. This year's event is being funded by sponsors who've put up about $150,000.

The bill's unanimous approval and signature from Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) "ensures that there is a place for agriculture in Nevada," Goicoechea said.

The Nevada Junior Livestock Show was bumped back from May to June to incorporate it with the fair, Goicoechea said, to give fairgoers the chance to experience one of Nevada's primary economic drivers. During the three-day show, youth from around the state will show everything from poultry and reptiles to sheep and beef. It culminates in a live auction at 6 p.m. Saturday.

"Most of our population centers don't get exposure to agriculture," Goicoechea said. "There's an entire generation out there that's never known the state fair of Nevada. We're excited to bring it back and really showcase what agriculture is."