COLUMBUS – A moving, talking Smokey Bear will be one of the new features when the 2015 Ohio State Fair begins Wednesday morning.
The Ohio State Fair runs Wed., July 29, through Sun., Aug. 9
Smokey has been a fair tradition since 1959, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, but this year’s version will have a decidedly 21st Century style. The 14-foot mechanical bear’s moving arms, head and mouth will greet visitors to the ODNR Natural Resources Park on the Expo Center grounds and will welcome each child who visits between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. by name, said Jason Fallon of the ODNR’s Office of Communications.
Smokey’s message has not changed in 56 years: He is still of teaching people how to prevent wildfires.
The ODNR’s fair exhibit includes a 7,000-square-foot kayak pond where staff will be on hand to help people learn new paddling skills. They will give a demonstration of stand-up paddleboarding at 3:00 p.m. every day.
For the second year in a row, disc golf will be offered in the Ohio State Parks camping village, with professionals available to teach visitors about golfing skills and equipment.
Volunteers in period costumes will welcome visitors to the Ohio Public House, a renovated pioneer cabin, and demonstrate activities, games and music to teach visitors about Ohio’s 19th Century pioneer days.
Fairgoers can also channel their inner Katniss Everdeen by taking a shot at archery, or can visit the Annie Oakley BB Shooting Range. Fallon says ODNT instructors will be on the park to assist.
The ODNR Natural Resources Park: Open from 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. daily; admission is free
As it has since 1903, the life-size butter sculpture of a Holstein dairy cow and calf will be displayed in a 36-by-11-foot cooler inside the Dairy Products Building, where the temperature is maintained at 46 degrees.
The butter cow sculpture will officially be unveiled Tuesday at noon, along with accompanying sculptures depicting an Ohio-based theme which will be kept top-secret until the unveiling at noon on Tuesday.