I figured that the State fair would turn away people with tripods, but I wanted to find out for sure. I buzzed around the site and found Press Room link that had a link to Photography and Videography Guidelines (pdf). It makes no mention of tripods. So I called the marketing department number at the bottom of the page. What I got was the most honest and realistic, and potentially frustrating policy yet. “It depends.” What I was told was that you have to be able to carry everything. So no light stands and such. Tripods are OK if they are used in areas that have lower traffic (find one of those at the fair!) and you may be asked to move along if set up in a spot that is busy. This sounds like a fair compromise if it works. But it does leave the discretion to the roving staff at the fair. I think I will try to go one week night this year by myself to take pictures. I will let you know how it goes.