The Michigan State Fair has a rich history, first debuting in Ann Arbor in 1839 before moving to Detroit in 1849, where it found a permanent home at the State Fairgrounds in 1905 thanks to a land donation from Joseph L. Hudson. At its peak in 1966, the fair drew 1.2 million visitors, but attendance plummeted to just 217,000 by 2009, when Governor Jennifer Granholm vetoed state funding, effectively ending the publicly funded era. To preserve the state's agricultural traditions—a key economic driver—supporters formed the Great Lakes Agricultural Fair in 2011, and by 2013, the event was rebranded as the Fifth Third Bank Michigan State Fair, organized by the private Michigan State Fair LLC. Today, the fair is held annually in the Metro Detroit suburb of Novi at the Vibe Credit Union Showplace (formerly Suburban Collection Showplace), operating entirely without taxpayer money through sponsorships and admissions. The fairgrounds' historic legacy also includes a one-mile racetrack that hosted NASCAR events in the early 1950s, and the event adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 by holding a virtual showcase for livestock exhibitors. Now privately run, the fair continues its longstanding traditions with support from major partners like Ram Trucks and Henry Ford Health, evolving for future generations.