Festivities at the Ohio State Fair officially kicked off in Columbus on Wednesday morning with a ceremonial ribbon cutting by Gov. Mike DeWine and his family to the tune of confetti cannons shot off by state officials.
The annual celebration of livestock and agriculture is in its 169th year, held at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds in Columbus near the Historic Crew Stadium.
This year will be another transitional one for the fair, DeWine said, with several eventual buildings on the grounds under construction as part of a larger revitalization project by the state: the Expo 2050 Master Plan.
“The State Fair is Ohio and it should not only reflect the best in Ohio, which it does, but also should reflect our future,” DeWine told reporters after his prepared remarks.
Just a month ago, as part of the biennial capital appropriations budget, state lawmakers voted to pass nearly $200 million for the Expo 2050 plan, a big policy priority for DeWine. Construction from the plan's first phase will finish in 2025 and 2026.
“As we invest in this fair, this is prime real estate, and we can't just use this for 12 days a year,” DeWine said. “This is very, very valuable real estate. We have to maximize it 365 days a year for some of the money we're putting in and we'll continue to put in.”
Still, DeWine said fairgoers are in for a fun two weeks.
For foodies, pickle lemonade, caramel popcorn ice cream, and cotton candy cream puffs are new featured menu items. After delivering remarks and walking some of the grounds, the governor tested out a vanilla cream puff Wednesday morning with the first lady and their grandson in the shade of the Schmidt's Sausage Haus tent.
One change from 2023 is a new policy that prevents minor fairgoers from admission without an adult after 6 p.m. Starting each night, security workers are being asked to check identification cards at the gate to ensure minors are with someone 21 or older.
Executive Director Adam Heffron—who is new to the job after Virgil Strickler, the longtime executive director, retired last year—said the changes come after seeing other similar events add the same restrictions.
“Working in another fair that instituted the same policy, it becomes extremely positive. Very positive,” Heffron said in an interview.
The fair runs now through August 4. Information can be found on the fair's website.
