Black Tie & Boots guests will ‘Mingle at The Meadow’ Sept. 26

Black Tie & Boots, the State Fair of Virginia’s opening-night benefit gala, will return to the fair this year after a two-year hiatus.

The ticketed VIP event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres in and around The Meadow Event Park’s Meadow Hall. Guests will be able to savor wines from award-winning Virginia wineries, and it will be at Black Tie & Boots that fair officials will announce the Best in Show winner of the revived State Fair of Virginia Commercial Wine Competition.

The event also will feature dancing to live music by Brad Spivey and The Honky Tonk Experience, as well as silent and live auctions. Fair-style surprises will feature prominently in the evening’s entertainment, and appearances by fair performers are entirely possible.

After a decadent dessert, guests who can’t resist the midway lights will be welcome to enjoy the fair, including an opening-night concert by country band Parmalee.

One hundred percent of proceeds from Black Tie & Boots will benefit the State Fair of Virginia Scholarship Program, which awards scholarships to winners in many of the fair’s youth competitions.

Black Tie & Boots historically has sold out in advance, and a limited number of tickets are available this year. Tickets are $100 each through Aug. 29; $110 each from Aug. 30 through Sept. 15; and $125 each Sept. 16 through Sept. 19, pending availability. A $500 party pack—six tickets for the price of five when purchased before Sept. 16—is available as well.

The event has been billed as “down-home fun with an uptown kick,” and guests previously have worn everything from old-school black tie to boots and jeans with formalwear flourishes.

The 2014 State Fair of Virginia will open Sept. 26 and run through Oct. 5. Information is available at StateFairVa.org.

The State Fair is held each fall at its permanent home at The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County. The fair’s mission is to increase agricultural and natural resource awareness and interest through educational programs, exhibitions and competitions in a fun, family-friendly setting.