ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The New Mexico Department of Agriculture is bringing new experiences to its Country Store at the New Mexico State Fair this year.
The store, which is a place where fairgoers can purchase goods made in New Mexico, will now offer expanded alcoholic and non-alcoholic options along with a customizable apparel experience and interactive exhibits.
What to know about the 2025 New Mexico State Fair
“Every year, we’re looking to bring in more and more products and more and more companies. And so that’s another way that the store is expanding this year. We’re fortunate to have all of our old favorites returning, but we’re also bringing in new companies as well,” said Sabrina Priest, marketing specialist with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.
One of the new drink experiences at the Country Store, located inside the Agriculture Building, will be a wine bar that will be open daily from Noon to 3 p.m. The guests will be able to sample different wines from New Mexico wineries.
In addition to that, happy hours will be held daily from 3 to 8 p.m. in the Agriculture Building courtyard, featuring New Mexico-made wines and brews, courtesy of the New Mexico Wine and Grape Growers Association and the New Mexico Brewers Guild.
“So you’ll have several options for what you want to try. There will also be live music. And during that time, we will have vendors from the country store sampling their products,” Priest explained.
“The New Mexico Beef Council, as well as New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, will also be hosting some type of booth; they might have some food or something like that during some of the happy hours. So no two happy hours will be the same,” Priest added.
NMDA is also bringing back its root beer float stand that will be available daily.
In addition to consuming drinks and food, farigoers will also have an opportunity to learn about food grown and produced in the state through interactive exhibits inside the south wing of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture building at EXPO New Mexico.
“So we have a green chili game, we have a peanut display, an onion display. And what we’re super excited about is we’re going to have a photo booth that has all kinds of wonderful facts about New Mexico dairy. And it actually looks like a milk carton,” said Priest, who added that there will also be a display about beef.
Another new experience guests can take part in is a custom hat bar, which Priest described as, “People can purchase some type of baseball cap or a trucker cap. And we have some different patches and logos that we can apply to the cap right there while they wait to make it so they can personalize it and have fun with it.”
This year’s fair is Sept. 4 through Sept. 14. To see what else is new at the fair, read our coverage here.
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