We are about two and an half weeks away from the return of the
Montgomery County Agricultural Fair
, which kicks off on Friday, August 8 and runs through Saturday, August 16. This will mark the 76th annual fair, and for the first time in a long time there will be no fair parking/shuttles from Lakeforest Mall. Additional information available below:
The fair will be open
from 3 p.m. to midnight
on opening day,
Friday, August 8
(gates close
at 11 p.m.
), and
from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday August 9th
,
Friday, August 15th
and
Saturday August 16th
(gates close
at 11 p.m.
all 3 nights).
On Sunday, August 10th through Thursday, August 14th
, the fair will run
from 10a.m. to 11 p.m.
(gates close
at 10 p.m.
each night).
August 11th
and 12th are designated Family Days, featuring discounted ride wristbands. Tickets are on sale at
mcagfair.com
.
🚗🎡 KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: FAIR PARKING 2025
Heading to the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair this August? Here’s your parking rundown:
✅ FREE Parking + Shuttle from:
📍 Montgomery College – Rockville Campus
📍 Montgomery College – Germantown Campus
Shuttles run 30 minutes before opening until close each day!
🚨 NO Parking or Shuttles from Lakeforest Mall in 2025.
🚘 Onsite Parking Available:
$20 per car at the Fairgrounds via 501 Perry Parkway (cash or credit)
🚖 Using Uber, Lyft, or MetroAccess? Use the 16 Chestnut Street Entrance for drop-off/pick-up.
This year’s concessions will include Lone Oak Brewery, Doc Waters Cidery, New Orleans Style Snow Balls, Dickerson Market, Dippin’ Dots, Corn Guys, Churro Inc., and Don Julio’s Kitchen.
Grandstand events
include two nights of Monster Truck action on August 13 and 14, the Red Eye Rodeo on August 15, and a one night only Stoney Roberts Demolition Derby on August 16, all beginning at 7:30 p.m. and featuring pre or post show opportunities to meet participants. Taste MoCo will also host the annual Fair Food awards on Friday, August 8.
AG Center History:
“The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair was born out of the desire of 4-H leaders to provide a county show for the 4-H members in Montgomery County. This would allow the 4-H members to exhibit their prize livestock, garden and home economics projects to the community. Their initial meeting occurred on a cold, March night in Rockville in 1945 with the intent to start a Fair. The Montgomery County Fair is now today, one of the largest county Fairs in the State of Maryland.
During the first years of this new program from 1945 to 1948, anyone in the community with an interest in agriculture donated their time and efforts to provide 4-H and FFA youth the opportunity to compete for top awards with their projects. Parents of these youth served refreshments for the participants, sold catalog advertisements, built pens and ties for the livestock, and organized the entries. Prize money was provided by the Maryland State Fair Board with the shows being held on borrowed ground.
The Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc. (MCAC) was formed as a privately operated 501(c) (3) non-profit organization on January 7, 1949, when a group of local farmers were elected as the first Board of Directors by the volunteer membership of the organization. The MCAC had recently purchased 64 acres of land adjacent to the railroad tracks from Herman Rabbitt, a successful farmer and landowner in Gaithersburg. On June 4th, 1949, hundreds of volunteers participated in after an old-fashioned barn raising and 12 outbuildings were constructed in one day. The site of the new Montgomery County Agricultural Center was created. Dedicated volunteers donated time, materials and talent to construct and continue operation of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds would not be what it is today if it were not for those visionary pioneers who were committed to agricultural education and family entertainment.
As is true today for the agricultural center, the volunteers were, and still are, necessary to the successful operation of the Fairgrounds, through continued contributions of materials and free labor for the construction of the new facilities, as well as upgrading the old. A network of more than 2,000 volunteers continue providing their time, making the agricultural center a vital part of the business community in Montgomery County. The nine day Montgomery County Agricultural Fair that is held in mid-August requires support from over 800 volunteers who assume the responsibility for organizing and producing the single largest annual event in Montgomery County.”
