Michigan Fair Revival Proposal

A Michigan businessman is pitching a replacement for the now-defunct Michigan State Fair to Novi city officials that would be privately funded and under a new name.

Blair Bowman, owner of the Suburban Collection Showplace, told the Novi City Council he would donate the full use of the facility and its resources to host The Great Lakes State Fair Aug. 31 to Sept. 3.

The event would also feature livestock exhibits, educational displays, outdoor rides, beer garden, live entertainment and more.

The Michigan State Fair opened in 1849 and was last held in Detroit in 2009. Then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm decided to discontinue state financing because of the state’s budget deficit and the fair’s operating losses.