Reserved Seat home

    Fairs and Festivals

    Grandstand pick: front mainstand rows · gate entry usually extra

    Fairs, parades and fiestas often charge for the gate and again for the show. Decide which access you want, then pick the spot.

    Browse

    City

    Albuquerque

    Albuquerque seat strategy for the Balloon Fiesta, the Pit, Isotopes Park, Tingley Coliseum and Popejoy Hall, plus buses and park-and-ride tips.

    Albuquerque, NM
    Abstract city skyline illustration representing Dallas–Fort Worth
    City

    Dallas–Fort Worth

    How to pick seats at DFW's arenas, stadiums, comedy clubs and concert halls, with the busiest dates and the best way to reach each venue.

    Dallas, TX
    City

    New Orleans

    New Orleans seat advice for Saints and Pelicans games, the Saenger, Orpheum and Joy, Jazz Fest, Frenchmen Street clubs and comedy rooms.

    New Orleans, LA
    Abstract event ticket illustration representing New Orleans Jazz Fest
    Festival

    New Orleans Jazz Fest

    Jazz Fest buying guide: picking your day once the cubes drop, VIP tiers and parking, field stages vs. tents, the Jazz Fest Express and what to pack.

    New Orleans, LA
    Abstract football field illustration representing Oklahoma Sooners football
    College Football

    Oklahoma Sooners football

    Pick the right side in Norman: the west home bench, the east student stands, visitor seats to the south, September sun and the Red River split.

    Norman, OK
    Abstract football field illustration representing Texas Longhorns football
    College Football

    Texas Longhorns football

    Where to sit at DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium for Longhorns football, which SEC home dates are scarce and how season holders shape resale supply.

    Austin, TX
    By the Reserved Seat editorial teamUpdated How we research

    Two Tickets, Two Decisions

    At a state fair, a Carnival parade or a balloon festival, the first seat decision is whether you need a seat at all. These events typically charge once to enter the grounds and again for the headline experience: a grandstand concert, a reserved spot on a parade route, a premium viewing club. Decide which of those you want, then choose where to sit inside it.

    A music festival works the other way, with a single wristband for every stage; those lineup events live on the Music Festivals hub. This page covers multi-day public celebrations rooted in a place and a tradition, such as state fairs, Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

    The crowd for this kind of outing is wide. The National Endowment for the Arts' state-level survey for 2022 found roughly 21 percent of US adults caught a performance at an outdoor festival, though the share ran lower in some states, including Florida (14 percent) and New York (12 percent).

    Grandstand Seating: Pit, Plaza or Mainstand

    Fair grandstands sell three broad kinds of space, and each suits a different night out:

    • Standing pit: the closest you can get, at the cost of standing through the entire set. Choose it for an artist you would stand in line to see anyway.
    • Plaza chairs: folding seats on level ground in front of the stage. They are close, but with no slope your view depends on the heights of the people ahead.
    • Raised mainstand, front rows: the first rows of the permanent stand look over the floor crowd and frame the whole stage. This is the pick for families, older fairgoers and anyone who wants to sit.

    The big fairs package music in different ways:

    • Minnesota. Its Grandstand, rebuilt in 2003 to hold about 17,000, books ticketed headliners during the fair, and the fair says outright that a concert ticket does not get you onto the fairgrounds. Inventory includes reserved plaza chairs and theater-style mainstand seats, a standing general admission pit for some shows, and standing-room Party Decks on the east and west ends.
    • Iowa. The 1909 Grandstand drew a record 131,755 concertgoers in 2025. Its tickets also exclude fair admission, and each show's seating map indicates whether the track in front of the stage holds chairs or a standing pit.
    • Texas. Concerts on the Chevrolet Main Stage come with the gate ticket on all 24 days, so one purchase covers everything.

    Weather is part of the bargain at an outdoor grandstand. The Minnesota State Fair's grandstand guide notes that a weather delay does not earn a refund, so watch the forecast and the fair's policy on show day.

    Fair Calendars: Texas, Minnesota and Iowa

    State fairs keep predictable dates, which makes planning straightforward.

    State Fair of Texas

    Held at Fair Park in Dallas since 1886, the fair typically opens the last Friday of September and lasts 24 days; the 2026 edition runs September 25 through October 18. Attendance in 2025 was 2,020,064, the smallest crowd in eight years. During the fair, Texas Longhorns football and Oklahoma Sooners football meet in the Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl stadium inside Fair Park, and that October Saturday is the most packed day of the run. The Dallas–Fort Worth guide covers the region's other events.

    Minnesota State Fair

    Set in Falcon Heights, between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, this fair has run for 12 days ending on Labor Day since 1975. Its record crowd, 2,126,551, came in 2019. The 2027 dates are August 26 through September 6.

    Iowa State Fair

    Des Moines has hosted the fair on the same grounds since 1886; it fills 445 acres for 11 days each August. The record, 1,182,682, was set in 2024, followed by 1,160,121 in 2025. The 2027 fair is planned for August 12 through 22.

    Parade Spots in New Orleans

    Fat Tuesday 2027 lands on February 9. Carnival opens January 6 (Twelfth Night), and the heaviest parade schedule falls in the final stretch before Mardi Gras day. Watching from the street costs nothing. A 2020 estimate put the event's draw at 1.4 million visitors to the city.

    Most of the big parades follow the Uptown route, starting at Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street, rolling down St. Charles Avenue toward the Central Business District and turning onto Canal Street toward the Mississippi. The krewes (the social clubs that build and ride the floats) include the historic Rex and the super krewes Endymion, Bacchus and Zulu.

    Your viewing options, ranked by effort:

    • Paid grandstand seat: a guaranteed spot along the route without claiming curb space at dawn. Worth it for a super krewe night or with small children who will tire quickly.
    • Uptown curbside: free, with thinner crowds and a family atmosphere where groups camp out for the day.
    • Ladder perch: common Uptown, but the city's tourism guidance says ladders should stand at least six feet back from the curb.

    The New Orleans city guide covers hotels and the rest of the calendar, including New Orleans Jazz Fest in the spring.

    Balloon Fiesta Sessions and Viewing

    Thirteen balloons flew at the first Fiesta in 1972, part of a radio station's 50th-anniversary celebration. Today more than 500 hot air balloons rise over nine days each October from Balloon Fiesta Park on Albuquerque's north side; the 2026 dates are October 3 through 11, and as many as 100,000 people can be on the field in a day.

    Admission is sold per session, not per day. A morning session covers every morning activity, an evening session covers every evening activity, and a general admission ticket works for one session on any date. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and the closing Sunday have no evening session. Kids 12 and under get in free. Parking costs extra, and the Fiesta runs Park and Ride buses; arranging either in advance is the surest way past the predawn traffic.

    Where to be:

    • Morning launch field: the heart of the event. Mass ascensions go up in two waves, the first usually near 7 a.m., and the field is open so you can walk among the crews during inflation.
    • Evening Balloon Glow: tethered balloons lit by their burners, often with fireworks afterward.
    • Premium clubs: the Gondola Club and Chasers' Club add reserved space and amenities; the Balloon Fiesta site lists what each includes.

    The Albuquerque city guide covers lodging, which books up early for Fiesta week.

    Buying the Add-Ons That Sell Out

    Gate tickets are plentiful and often cheaper in advance. The extras behave more like concert seats:

    • Grandstand shows go on sale months ahead through each fair's ticketing partner (Etix, in Minnesota's case). Headliners can sell out like an arena date, and late buyers usually turn to resale. As of 2026, Minnesota allows no refunds or exchanges.
    • Parade grandstands come from several different operators along the route, so verify the exact block, the nights included and what the seat provides before paying.
    • Premium festival clubs have limited capacity, and peak weekends go first.

    On any listing, check one line above all: whether gate admission is included. For most grandstand tickets it is not. Reserved Seat backs every order with a 100% guarantee, and the guides How to Avoid Ticket Scams and Ticket Fees Explained cover what to verify with any seller.

    Planning Notes for a First Visit

    • Budget for both tickets. At a Minnesota or Iowa grandstand show you need the concert seat and gate entry, and you need time to clear the gate lines.
    • Choose the day for the crowd. Weekends and holidays are busiest at every fair, and Red River Showdown weekend tops them all in Dallas.
    • Dress for the hour. August afternoons at a fair run hot, while Fiesta mornings begin cold in the dark.
    • Recheck the rules that day. Bag, weather and re-entry policies shift from year to year.

    Concerts with a full festival lineup belong on the Music Festivals hub. For other outings, see the Rodeo hub, the Food and Drink Festivals hub for tastings and the Film Festivals hub for screenings.

    Frequently asked questions

    Do I need a separate ticket to get into the fair for a grandstand show?

    At the Minnesota and Iowa state fairs, yes: grandstand concert tickets do not include fair admission. At the State Fair of Texas, Chevrolet Main Stage concerts come with the gate ticket.

    Where is the best place to sit at a fair grandstand concert?

    For a full view while seated, choose the front rows of the raised mainstand. The standing pit is closest, and flat plaza chairs are close but can be blocked by people in front.

    Is a Mardi Gras grandstand seat necessary?

    No. Parades are free to watch from the street. A grandstand seat buys a guaranteed spot, which helps on super krewe nights or with young children.

    What does one Balloon Fiesta ticket cover?

    One session on any day, either the morning program or the evening program. Kids 12 and under are free, and parking is extra.

    What dates does the State Fair of Texas run in 2026?

    September 25 through October 18 at Fair Park in Dallas, following its usual pattern of opening on the last Friday in September for 24 days.

    Sources

    Card and header photos come from Wikimedia Commons contributors under Creative Commons or public-domain terms. Artist and license for each one are listed on the photo credits page.