{"id":344711,"date":"2025-10-31T04:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T04:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/344711\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T04:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T04:03:12","slug":"jacksonville-fair-prepares-for-its-last-run-downtown-as-it-gears-up-for-move-to-westside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/344711\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Fair prepares for its last run downtown as it gears up for move to Westside"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. <\/strong> \u2013 The Jacksonville Fair, a beloved downtown tradition for decades, is preparing for a major change. <\/p>\n

After 70 years at its current location, the fair will move to the Westside in 2026, and while the move promises new opportunities, some neighbors are raising concerns about traffic and safety on Normandy Boulevard near the new site.<\/p>\n

Bill Olson, executive director of the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair, explained the decision to relocate. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we\u2019ve been here for 70 years, we feel it\u2019s time, because of everything happening around us, that it\u2019s just getting harder and harder for us to have the size event that we have,\u201d Olson said.<\/p>\n

The downtown area has changed significantly over the years, especially recently, with developments like the Four Seasons hotel, the Jaguars stadium, the new Museum of Science and History, and a soccer field nearby. <\/p>\n

Olson described the move as \u201cbittersweet,\u201d given the fair\u2019s long history downtown.<\/p>\n

The new fairgrounds are located next to the Equestrian Center off Normandy Boulevard on the Westside, where construction is currently underway. <\/p>\n

However, some residents like Jeannie Engle, who has lived near Normandy Boulevard for 13 years, worry about the impact on their neighborhood\u2019s quiet, country feel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not opposed to the fair. I\u2019m opposed to new development. Just widen the roads first,\u201d Engle said. She pointed to dangerous driving conditions caused by ongoing road work and concrete barriers. <\/p>\n

When asked about traffic concerns, Olson said the fair organizers are addressing that in plans for the new site.<\/p>\n

Rendering shows plans for new expo center at new Jacksonville fairgrounds on the Westside (Provided By Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair Association)<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019ll have a dedicated entrance and exit off of POW. So that\u2019s going to relieve all the traffic on Normandy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Engle plans to attend the fair at its new location but said she is more likely to visit during the daytime to avoid heavy traffic. <\/p>\n

\u201cI hope by then they\u2019ve figured out the situation because traffic will be crazy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While the move to the Westside is still down the road, the fair will run downtown one last time from Nov 6 through Nov 16. <\/p>\n

Olson encouraged those who haven\u2019t visited in a while to come and reminisce. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose folks maybe haven\u2019t come in a while…You know coming here as a kid or whatever and seeing it one last time is really the last chance they\u2019re going to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advanced tickets for the fair are available at JacksonvilleFair.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The Jacksonville Fair, a beloved downtown tradition for decades, is preparing for a major change.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":344712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,18605,3188,723,7310,169557,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,74935],"class_list":{"0":"post-344711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-downtown-jacksonville","10":"tag-fl","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-jacksonville","13":"tag-jacksonville-fair","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa","20":"tag-westside"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115466797658578948","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}