2012 Arizona State Fair begins October 12 with exciting traditions for whole family

PHOENIX - The 2012 Arizona State Fair is right around the corner!

After hosting over one million attendees in 2011, the Arizona State Fair is back with a variety of new rides, vendors and entertainment for the whole family.

Beginning October 12, you can enjoy almost 130 years of state fair traditions and explore all of the new additions that the Arizona State Fair has to offer.

Attractions

New entertainment will include new specimens in Our Body: The Universe Within, Steel Drum Corps, Butterfly Adventure, Sue Wee Flying Pig Races and Behemoth Bugland.

Native Spirit Dancers, Toddler Town and the Great American Petting Zoo will be back this year, along with some other fun and exciting events.

Ready for some competition? The United States Armwrestling Championships, the Arizona State Fair 5K Fun Run/Walk, Toddler Town Diaper Derby, Coco's Pie Eating, Frozen T-Shirt, Wendy's Chicken Dance and texting contests are among the events lined up for this year.

Entertainment extras will include the Police K-9 Competition, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety Public Safety Days, Monster Trucks, the RV Demolition Derby and an All Indian Rodeo.

Following tradition, the fair will still celebrate certain events and attractions like livestock displays, a huge Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance, Beerfest, wine tasting, Caribbean Village, culinary contests, art shows and more.

Music

The 2012 music line-up for the Arizona State Fair Concert Series will include guests from all different musical genres like Billy Currington, Nas, Korn, Adam Lambert, John Fogerty, Weezer, Old School Jam and more.

Concerts are free for visitors who pay admission into the fair on their scheduled dates.

Reserved seating is available for most of the shows ranging from $15 to $20 on Ticketmaster.

Read and Ride Program

Back by popular demand, the 2012 Arizona State Fair is once again gifting ride tickets to avid-reading kids between the ages of 5 and 14.

In 2011, the Read and Ride Program promoted literacy by getting around 8,580 kids to read nearly 26,000 books. These children earned almost 18,000 free ride passes.

Over 257,464 passes have been donated by Ray Cammack Shows since the program began in 2000.

Fair Information

The fair will have an 18-day run from Oct. 12 to Nov. 4, but will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Gates will open at noon on weekdays and at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 55+) and children between ages 5 to 13. Children under 5 years old get free admission into the fair.

Pre-sale tickets are available until Oct. 11 and season passes are available until Oct. 21.

Discounts and specials are available online.

The fair is located at 1826 West McDowell Road in Phoenix.

For more information on the 2012 Arizona State Fair, go online .