The story
Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo in Las Cruces
The Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo is an annual state fair held each September at a permanent fairgrounds in Las Cruces, New Mexico, first staged in 1966. Now in its late fifties of consecutive editions, it combines a livestock auction and show, professional rodeo competition, roughly seventy-five amusement rides, over a hundred food booths, hundreds of commercial vendor booths, and live music into a multi-day celebration of the region's ranching and farming heritage.
Southern New Mexico's fair tradition dates to 1966, when the Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo held its first edition at what would become a permanent fairgrounds site in Las Cruces.