Aug. 28 -- Grab a turkey leg and pick your favorite pig race contestant, the New Mexico State Fair is returning for 11 days of fun, food and farm animals.
Dan Mourning, general manager of Expo New Mexico and the New Mexico State Fair, said there's "a little bit of something for everyone."
"There's so many different moving parts or so many things that draw people together," Dan Mourning, general manager of Expo New Mexico and the New Mexico State Fair, said. "That's why 520,000 people show up for this fair every year."
Mourning said the state fair, which runs Thursday, Sept. 4, through Sunday, Sept. 14, has an atmosphere that gets people excited.
"It's energetic, it's uplifting," Mourning said.
"Everything that we do out there is just, you can't even see it in one day. There's so much entertainment, it's just a great celebration in a really safe environment."
He said that the New Mexico State Fair is one of the safest fairs in the United States in terms of security and technology.
"When you're comfortable, you feel good, you come out with your friends, your family, your neighbors," Mourning said. "And it's a great time for us, especially in the times that we're living in, to come together and be happy and celebrate those things that make us great as a state."
Alongside an emphasis on security, the fair also has a focus on affordability.
"We understand what it takes to make a living out there. We don't want people to miss the fair because they can't afford it," Mourning said.
A ticket to the fair online starts at $10.50 and goes up to $40 for an all-access pass. The state fair will also host several discount days. Fairgoers will have the option of Park and Ride, departing from and returning to Coronado Center on Saturdays and Sundays.
The New Mexico State Fair will have new food and drink options this year, including items tailored for the 21 and over crowd.
"So we have not just one, but we have two state fair brews that will be sold exclusively at the fair," Mourning said.
For those looking for a non-beer option or a nonalcoholic option, Mourning said this year the fair is bringing back a speakeasy at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Exhibit Complex.
"This is where you can get craft cocktails, mocktails, a little bit of entertainment," Mourning said. "We kind of call it the adult sensory station."
He said the speakeasy gives the older crowd an escape from the noise where they can listen to some comedy and jazz.
The fair features a wide variety of entertainment, including Break-A-Boyz, MegaMorph the Transforming Car and Buckets N Boards, which are all new this year.
A new musical event this year is Soundwave NM, Mourning said, a showcase for local bands inside Tingley Coliseum.
Another popular event that will be returning is the Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge, where nine of the best restaurants around New Mexico will be competing, Mourning said.
That's not the only cook-off on the menu -- the Unique Food Contest takes place opening day and the high school culinary competition is also returning.
"These are your future chefs and cooks that are going to be serving our food up for many generations, and they are talented, so you ... definitely don't want to miss that," Mourning said.
Mourning said opportunities like Future Farmers of America and the culinary competition help boost future generations.
"We need to showcase the best of New Mexico, and that's what the state fair does," Mourning said, "and giving these young people that venue and that opportunity to showcase their talents is the reason we exist."
"They are absolutely our future."
Mourning said the diversity of the fair is what keeps people coming year after year.
"It's one of those things that it may be livestock and agriculture on one hand, it could be the rides, it could be the concerts, it could be the rodeo, it could be the art," Mourning said. "It's the history, the culture. It's the greatest event for New Mexico in New Mexico."