By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published May 15, 2018 at 11:02 AM Photography: Bobby Tanzilo

The Wisconsin State Fair on Tuesday announced its partner promotions for the 2018 festival, including a few favorites from years past.

These promotions offer a variety of deals, allowing visitors affordable options for attending the 2018 Wisconsin State Fair, Aug. 2-12, as well as other local attractions.

Here’s how you can score some tickets at a discount:

"Dublin" the Fun Fair & Fest Deal

State Fair is "Dublin" down and partnering with the world’s largest celebration of Irish music and culture, running Aug. 16-19. For $18, you get one State Fair ticket and one Milwaukee Irish Fest ticket – twice the fun for the price of one. The offer is available through July 31 at the State Fair Ticket Office and online at WiStateFair.com (service fees apply).

Party Animal Package

Hey party animals, for $16 you can get one State Fair ticket and one adult admission to the Milwaukee County Zoo. The offer is available through July 31 at the State Fair Ticket Office and online at WiStateFair.com (service fees apply). Zoo tickets are valid through Dec. 31, 2018 and cannot be combined with any other offers.

Lakeshore Chinooks State Fair Sundays

State fair and baseball, a couple of great summer traditions. Choose from two package options: one general admission ticket to select Lakeshore Chinooks Sunday games, a State Fair ticket and a Chinooks hat for $11, or one reserved grandstand ticket to select Lakeshore Chinooks Sunday games, a State Fair admission and a Chinooks hat for $14. Game dates are June 3, June 10, June 17, July 8, July 22 and Aug. 5. Visit LakeshoreChinooks.com to purchase ticket packages (service fees apply), and get hooked!

BloodCenter of Wisconsin

Be a hero this July. Visit any BloodCenter of Wisconsin donor center that month, donate a pint of blood and receive one free State Fair ticket (while supplies last). For donation locations and to make an appointment, visit versiti.org/BCW.

Super Reader Library Program

The Milwaukee Public Library's Super Reader summer reading program is great – read about it here – and now there’s even more incentive to participate. Kids can earn a coupon for one free youth admission ticket to State Fair upon completion of the Summer Reading Program at any Milwaukee County Library. Teens can also earn free Fair admission for reading this summer. Contact your local library for details, or visit mpl.org.

Libraries Rock! Summer Reading Program

Milwaukee kids aren’t the only readers that can be rewarded with State Fair tickets. Youth can earn free admission upon completion of the Libraries Rock! Reading Program at any Waukesha or Jefferson County Library. Contact your local library for details, or visit bridgeslibrarysystem.org.

Stay tuned to OnMilwaukee for more State Fair news as it’s announced.

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.