The 2018 Ohio State Fair opens Wednesday with the final opening remarks by outgoing Gov. John Kasich.
New attractions at this year’s fair include a drone racing event, a craft beer festival, and a series of speeches by political candidates.
Performers at this year’s fair include comedians Trevor Noah and Jeff Dunham, as well as musical acts The Beach Boys, The Commodores, TLC, En Vogue, STYX, Cheap Trick, Lee Brice, and Brothers Osbourne.
The butter sculpture at this year's Ohio State Fair brings a bit of Christmas in July with a dairy display of key elements from the 1983 film "A Christmas Story," which was partly filmed in Cleveland.
The 12-day fair in Columbus starts nearly one year to the day after 18-year-old Tyler Jarrell was killed when the Fire Ball ride broke apart. Both the ride's manufacturer and operator have deflected blame over who's responsible for the corrision that led to one of the Fire Ball's gondulas breaking off the ride mid-swing.
Jarrell is the namesake of “Tyler’s Law,” which has stalled in the legislature since being introduced in May. It would add state ride inspectors, and give preference to engineers who apply for the job.
Fair officials say attendance at last year’s fair was 801,031 people. That was 13 percent lower than the 921,214 people who attended in 2016.
On a separate note, if you're wondering what sort of deep-fried food you can get at the Ohio State Fair, the fair's websiteincludes a helpful list:
- Brownies
- Buckeyes
- Buffalo chicken dip
- Butter
- Candy bars (Snickers, Three Musketeers, Milky Way)
- Cheese
- Cheese curds
- Cheesecake
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Cookies (Oreo, Nutter Butter)
- Cookie dough
- Grilled cheese sandwich
- Gummy bears
- Mashed potatoes
- Macaroni and cheese
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Pickles
- Ravioli
- Strawberries and cream puffs
- S’mores
- Sweet corn
- Tacos
- Twinkies
- Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, okra, onion rings/blossoms, peppers)
