KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Fair is back and better than ever this year. The 102nd fair is bringing some big names to the area for its 2022 concert series. the shows began on September 10th, but will continue until the last day of the fair. You can find a list of those acts here.
The fair also brought in vendors that offer a whole plethora of fair food options. You can find a list of those concessions here. One of the most famous vendors at the TN Valley fair is The Best Around Funnel Cakes, which is operated by Mama Jane.
This year, Mama Jane won the fair's award for Best Funnel Cake for her mouth-watering strawberry cheesecake funnel cake. She also won the award for Best New Fair Food for her Nana's Gooey Butter Cake Funnel Cake.
In addition to the new fair food, there also a set of 50 new rides on the fairgrounds this year. That's due to a new midway provider, Kissel Entertainment, who landed a contract with the Tennessee Valley Fair.
A spokesperson for the company, Eric German said, "When we were invited to provide the midway, we knew we would work with them closely to provide a new layout, bring a lot of new rides in, and a lot of energy and excitement to the midway."
The Little Ponderosa petting zoo exhibit at the Tennessee Valley Fair is a decades-long tradition. Historically, it is one of the most popular attractions for fair-goers. This time, they have two camels, dozens of goats, nearly a hundred chicks, and even a snake for people to look at, learn about, and feed.
Corbin Cox, the director of the Little Ponderosa Zoo, said all of the proceeds from the feed and pony rides will go toward rescuing animals in need.
"Doing the fairs, festivals and stuff like that really helps get the revenue up so that we can turn it around to be able to give animals a forever home," Cox said.
The Tennessee Valley fair runs until September 18.