The who’s who among Missouri politics will be at the state fair on Thursday for ham, eggs, and mingling. The Governor’s Ham Breakfast – a tradition that has been going on for 71 years – will bring together people running for office and voters.
The breakfast is arguably Missouri’s largest political event of the year. Missouri’s Congressional delegation will be there, along with state lawmakers, wannabe politicians, lobbying groups, political reporters, and the public.
The breakfast usually sells out during a major election year and this year is no different. Missouri Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn said the event has sold out of meal tickets, with 1,250 people expected for breakfast.
“As long as you have a ticket, you will have enough food to eat. We’ve never run out of food for the ticket holders for the meal,” Chinn told Missourinet. “All the food is sourced from Missouri.”
Standing room only tickets are still available.
Chinn and other members of the governor’s cabinet will be there.
“Governor’s Ham Breakfast is a tradition that dates back way before I became Director of Agriculture,” said Chinn. “I can remember being a kid in the 4H building exhibiting my projects and hearing people talk about the Governor’s Ham Breakfast. It’s a day that you can count on seeing the governor on the fairgrounds.”
Since this is Gov. Mike Parson’s last ham breakfast as governor, there will be a groundbreaking for a new rodeo arena and multi-purpose building afterwards.
“Where we used to host rodeo events and other events out in that outdoor arena, it’s going to be a fully covered, climate controlled, 140,000 square feet arena. It can be used all year-round for multiple uses, and we’re really excited about that,” Chinn said.
The hope is to have the arena up and running for the 2026 Missouri State Fair.
For those planning to visit the fair Thursday or this week, Chinn has some recommendations.
“Take some time and walk through our livestock barns, talk with those 4H and FFA kids that have worked so hard taking care of their livestock for the last year. I always love going through the 4H and the FFA building as well to see all of those projects. It’s always a very popular place on the State Fairgrounds to stop at Gerken Dairy building to see the butter cow,” said Chinn.
The State Fair runs through Sunday in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia.
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