COLUMBUS – The 167th Ohio State Fair got underway Wednesday morning at the Ohio Expo Center on the Northeast Side, the first full-blown fair in three years.
During the fair’s last pre-pandemic run in 2019, over 934,000 people walked through the gates.
Gov. Mike DeWine presided over the opening of the fair, then followed the tradition set by several of his predecessors in the governor’s mansion by spending the night at the fair.
He and First Lady Fran DeWine and several of their grandchildren stayed in a yurt at the Natural Resources Park.
This year’s fair runs through Aug. 7 and features, among other attractions, the largest-ever butter sculpture at the Dairy Products Building, and a menu of midway food that includes a Queso Burger, Cornbread Funnel Cake, Mac and Cheese On A Stick and Deep-Fried Devil Dogs, the classic chocolate cake snack stuffed with cookie dough.
Visitors to the Ohio State Highway Patrol both can get a look at a new educational video to help parents, teachers, and driver’s education instructors explain the dangers of distracted driving to teens.
The light-hearted video – hosted by “Ava” and “Noah” — answers the distracted driving questions that instructors get the most.
The fair runs through Aug. 7.