On the initiative of chairwoman Erika Hemeling, the newly founded Wiesbaden Housewives' Association launched an industrial exhibition in 1950. In the Wartburg, twelve exhibitors presented their goods to around 300 visitors. This event, which was held annually from then on, developed into the household goods exhibition, HAFA for short, which was known far beyond Wiesbaden and attracted more and more exhibitors and visitors over the following decades. The exhibition first moved from the Wartburg to the rooms of the Casino and then to the Brunnenkolonnade. In 1957, the exhibition was held for the first time in the new Rhein-Main-Halle, where over 100,000 people came to see the "Family - House - Farm" fair. Increasing prosperity and the mechanization of the household made the event an attractive attraction. Until 1956, the organization was in the hands of the Hausfrauenverein, but in 1957 a Wiesbaden-based company took over this task, although the association remained the conceptual sponsor.

The number of exhibitors and visitors grew steadily in the 1960s. In 1960, foreign companies were also guests for the first time. 1968 saw a record number of visitors, with more than 200,000 interested visitors in ten days. HAFA became the most important trade exhibition for the home economics sector in Hessen. In 1980, it was given the new name "Hessen's Current Family Exhibition" and in 1981, 340 exhibitors from 14 countries came to Wiesbaden. Since the end of the 1980s, the number of visitors has declined continuously; HAFA was held in Wiesbaden for the last time in 2009.