About Us:
The Cocke County Fair was incorporated in 1947 and the fair was held at its present location (the former Allen Farm) in September 1948 after moving from the Newport City Park. Timber was cut from the new fairgrounds to construct some of the buildings. In the beginning, all fair events were horse related, with a different event each night. The horse arena was located where the present day Little Theater is located. The FFA was instrumental in helping establish the fair as Charlie Shipley, agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor was the first president of the fair association. Later, a racetrack was built on the fairgrounds with a car race held each night of the fair. A carnival was soon added to the fair, which was a game changer. As the fair grew, many people attended from the surrounding areas, including Western North Carolina, so the name of the fair was changed to the Tennessee-Carolina Fair. In the late seventies or early eighties, the name of the fair was changed back to the Cocke County A&I Fair.
