The gates open for another season at the Ohio State Fair, and like a gunshot at the start of a race, it signals the start of something fantastic and exciting that I’ve been looking forward to since last year.
Running as fast as my 4-year old legs can carry me, I dash past the arts buildings, the sky ride, the agriculture and livestock demonstrations, midway rides and head directly to the Ohio Division of Natural Resources area at the other end of the fairgrounds.
My goal: to be first in line at the children’s fishing area. Stocked with hundreds of bluegill and catfish, kids ages 14 and younger learn how to fish. When the 15 minute session ends, I have a prize catfish to take home for dinner and I’m ready to do it again.
My mad dash to the fishing area at the Ohio State Fair as a child is one of my prized memories. If it weren’t for my mother dragging me away after three rounds of fishing to see other things at the fair, I may STILL be there today –only now I have to borrow someone’s child to get in the gates.
Over the years I have enjoyed the many exhibits and experiences that only a state fair can bring like learning how to milk a cow, winning a prize goldfish at a midway game, seeing Best of Show fruits and vegetables representing the bounty of our state’s agriculture industry, watching livestock competitions and opportunities to appreciate the unique things Ohio has to offer.
The 2014 Ohio State Fair is July 23- August 3rd from 9am – 10pm (August 3 until 8pm) at the Ohio Expo Center (717 E. 17th Avenue, Columbus). Admission is $10 (Adults 13-59, $8 (Seniors 60+ and children 5-12), FREE (children under 5). Discount tickets ($4 off admission) are available at Kroger, some AAA locations and Ticketmaster. For budgeting purposes, plan on $5 for parking, ride wristbands ($23 for all-day) and food and drink while you are there.
In addition to traditional favorites like the famous butter cow in the dairy barn and those GIANT ice cream cones, the Sale of Champions Livestock Auction (August 3, 2pm), the daily parade featuring the All-Ohio Youth Choir and evening fireworks (9:45pm daily), there are some new must-see events and attractions:
- Dino walk: A strolling T-Rex on the grounds. You can’t miss the towering 8-foot-tall, 12-foot-long dinosaur making his way through the crowd.
- Welde’s Big Bear Show (1pm, 3pm, 7pm in Kiddieland area): An educational show with a family of bears.
- Steel City Vaulters (July 31, 1pm & 6:30pm and August 1, 1pm & 6pm in JD Equipment Taft Coliseum): Gymnasts on horseback provide an entertaining performance of acrobatics.
- Old Familiar Beard Bash Competition (July 28, noon in the ShowPlace Pavilion): Men and women (I’m not making this up) participate in this wacky competition where contestants vie for the best and worst facial hair prizes in a variety of categories.
- Concerts: Heart/Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (July 30, 7pm), The Beach Boys (July 29, 7:30pm), Aretha Franklin (July 31, 7pm), McClain with China Anne McClain/Trevor Jackson (August 1, 7pm) among others.
Part of the fair experience of course is the food. Everyone has a signature “fair food favorite,” mine is those tiny donuts. Some new fair food hits the midway this year including:
- Sloppy donut – A donut sandwich with BBQ pulled pork, deep fried pickle chips, bacon and cheese.
- Chicken and waffles on a stick: just what it sounds like
- Fried plantains
- Bubba’s Bacon: bacon ball on a stick, bacon popcorn, hot dog wrapped in bacon on a stick and ¼ pound bacon on a stick.
- Cream cheese with larvettes: A battered, deep-fried mix of insect larvae and cream cheese (I’ll stick to the little donuts, thanks).
The Ohio State Fair has been going strong for 161 years providing families traditions and memories just like the ones I’ve enjoyed since childhood.
Recent Comments