The Montana State Fair opened July 23 and runs through Aug. 3 at Montana ExpoPark.

We’ve been seeing a lot of the same questions, so here’s a roundup of general information, remaining night concerts and fair food vendors.

The county’s fair guide, with vendor maps and more information is here.

Fair Hours

• Weekends: noon to midnight
• Weekdays: noon to 11 p.m.

County approves horse racing, fair entertainment contracts

Fair Gate Admission

• Adults (18 to 590: $9
• Children: 5 and under are free
• Lunch special: $6 (available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Seniors (60 and older): $6
• Youth (6 to 17): $6

Carnival Wristbands

Wristbands for The Mighty Thomas Carnival are good from 12-5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to close.

Wristbands are $35.

Montana State Fair adds more acts, including Starship, Foghat

Night Concerts

• Bush: July 29
• Trace Adkins: July 30
• Tape Face: Aug. 1
• Jeff Dunham: Aug. 2
• Newboys: Aug. 3

Purchase night show tickets online or at the box office.

Bingo in the Park

Free Bingo is available for those 18 or older at the 3 Rivers Stage daily at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Montana State Fair night concert lineup; summer concerts downtown

Strolling Entertainment

• Strolling Piano
• Plant Guy
• Funkanometry
• Cast in Bronze
• Mirror Men

Handicapped accessibility

See the visitor grain elevator shaped Information Booth located at the entrance to the Central Park loop, just inside the purple gate for wheelchair, stroller, and wagon rentals as well as maps of our facilities.

Concerns

Dial 406- 727-8900 for concerns/questions or lost and found.

Deputies/Medical

• Dial 911 for emergencies.
• Parents should contact deputies immediately on fairgrounds. First Aid located in the Mercantile Building.
• Deputy staffing during the fair is located in the Fire Hall behind the Family Living Center, dial 406-727-8339.

Rodeo

The Big Sky Pro Rodeo is July 31-Aug. 3.

General admission for adults is $18; youth ages 3-12 is $10 and can be purchased only at the box office; reserved seating is $26.

Fair Food Vendors

All the same food vendors with the exception of the Sons of Norway and one other returned for the 2024 Montana State Fair, according to Great Falls Fire Marshal Mike McIntosh.

Great Falls Fire Rescue said that all food vendors at this year’s fair passed the new fire code requirements with 100 percent compliance.

Fire code changes coming for food trucks

Montana State Fair did not change any food vendor rules this year, Susan Shannon, ExpoPark manager, told The Electric.

The fair must follow fire code, which is adopted by the state and City of Great Falls, and did include changes for fire suppression systems for mobile food vendors. Those changes went into effect earlier this year and food vendors were notified of the coming changes several years ago, according to McIntosh.

• Purple.Gold
• Stuff’d
• Cameron’s Fried Ice Cream
• Levandowski Concessions LLC
• Guttbusters-Cowpies
• C&C Concessions-Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Pizza, Corn Dog, Elephant Ears, Taste of the South
• Sabores De Oaxaca
• Smokewagon BBQ
• Pink Ribbon-Smoothies and Snow Cones
• Snow Drift Snow Cones
• Bac-On Foods
• Espresso on the Go
• Firehouse Spam Sliders and Fries, Cookie Dough
• The Meat Shack
• Fire Hydrant
• Pink Ribbon-Ice Cream, Cotton Candy
• Donut Bros.
• French Fry Factory
• Taco Treat
• Tropical Cool Dessert Isle
• Texas Twister
• Budz and Grubz
• Budda Belly Yum Yum
• Bourbon Chicken Skewers
• Frosty’s
• Brian’s Top Notch
• Frybread Express
• Turkey Legs