Fair Season begins across the southwest during the summer months into October. The Navajo fairs span from New Mexico into Arizona and Utah. In the beginning they were designed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to impact livestock management and try to colonize the Navajos. Instead the Navajo families began use fair locations as a place to continue to have ceremonies and traditional song and dance. The fair season began to grow from Shiprock, NM to Window Rock, Az and into Tuba City, Az, now there are over nine and still growing.

The families who grow their own crops use this time to sell or trade for other goods. Harvest season is a time to get ready for winter months, corn is dried out for food supply during the winter months. Meat is prepared as jerky. Deer hides and sheep skin are prepared for cold winter season.

Today, the Navajo fairs are very popular to buy contemporary arts and crafts, food vendors, handmade apparel and jewelry. The largest Navajo fair is in September at the Navajo Nation capital in Window Rock, Az, the first week in September. Fair events include: Navajo Song & Dance, Horticulture contest, Miss Navajo competition, 4H Livestock competition, Rodeo, Inter-tribal Cultural Dances, Pow Wow, carnival, concerts, Saturday morning parade and Wild Horse Race. More than 80,000 people attend during the Navajo Nation Fair.

Navajo fairs have become a top destination for tourists. It provides all the cultural elements in one location, from cultural dances, learning to speak Navajo, buy directly from artists and eat some locally prepared food which is usually locally grown.

Eastern Navajo Fair & Rodeo, Crownpoint, NM (July 23-26, 2026)
Southwest Navajo Fair, Dilkon, AZ (Early August)
Central Agency Fair, Chinle, AZ (August 10-16, 2026)
Ramah Navajo Fair & Rodeo, Pine Hill, NM / Ramah, NM (August 21-23, 2026)
Navajo Nation Fair, the largest Navajo Fair in Window Rock, AZ (September 8-13, 2026)
Utah Navajo Fair, Bluff, UT (Mid-September)
Northern Navajo Fair, the oldest Navajo fair in Shiprock, NM (Early October)
Alamo Indian Days, Alamo, NM (Mid-October)
Western Navajo Fair, Tuba City, AZ (October 15-18, 2026)