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From food to entertainment, see what’s new at the 2024 Ohio State Fair

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From food to entertainment, see what’s new at the 2024 Ohio State Fair

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If you have a hankering for pork tenderloin sandwiches, funnel cakes and food on sticks, you won’t have to wait long for a bellyful of happiness.

In less than three weeks, the Ohio State Fair will be here with its veritable smorgasbord of tried-and-true classics, along with a host of new additions to the menu.

Feeling thirsty after a day of strolling the fairgrounds in the heat? Try a frosty, refreshing cup of pickle lemonade! Or how about a Cleveland corned-beef egg roll? You’ll find these and other delights along New Food Avenue, located between the Ohio Lottery Main Street Stage and the north end of the midway.

“Everyone loves new food at the fair. New Food Avenue is a nice little stretch with new foods from new vendors,” said Jess West, public information officer for the Ohio Expo Center and Ohio State Fair.

“Pickle flavor seems to be really big right now. Also, they’ll have bombs, a variety of puff pastries that they’re putting buffalo chicken in.”

In other food news, the Taste of Ohio Café will be moving a bit south and getting a new name: The Taste of Ohio Pavilion & Beer Garden (formerly North Commercial Building).

It will still offer many of the same tantalizing meals as the café and the expanded beer garden will provide local brews and wines to pair with each meal. Guests also can enjoy live music and peruse the horticultural and floral exhibits.

Good eats aren’t the only new attractions at the 2024 Ohio State Fair this year. There’s a wealth of added entertainment, programs, games and more, plus a few changes. (Don’t worry — the butter cow isn’t going anywhere.)

“The Ohio State Fair is such an exciting place offering so many different kinds of fun. We want to stay true to the traditions that people know, like the butter cow while still offering new experiences,” West said.

“We try to shake out the things we do by offering new entertainment, new exhibits, highlighting new fair foods and making sure the shows people are going to are different.”

Here’s what’s debuting at this year’s fair:

Ohio State Fair History Exhibit in Kasich Hall C: See how the fair has grown over the years as you view historic photos and scale models, with “tiny fairs” dating back to the 1800s that show what the fairgrounds looked like a decade ago, a century ago and even further back in time.

Nerveless Nocks Thrill Show: This eighth-generation family of stunt performers are internationally known for their giant sway-pole show, which was featured on “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” and season 17 of “America’s Got Talent.” Located at the south end of the Mountain Dew Midway, the show takes place 80 feet above ground!

“It’s definitely a show that daredevils don’t want to miss!” West said, adding that select shows will include ASL interpretation.

Expo 2050 Project Showcase: If the Ohio Expo Center facility looks a bit different, that’s because it’s in the middle of a major construction project. Visit the Project Showcase in Central Park to see renderings of the new buildings and entrance gate, get a glimpse into a construction site and more.

Sheepdog Spectacular: The Marvelous Mutts show featuring performing rescue dogs will be joined by an entertaining, interactive show by working sheepdogs herding sheep in the “Dog House,” which has become a fair favorite.

Mural competition: Participants who submitted their artwork prior to the fair will recreate their works in mural form live from July 26-28, the first weekend of the fair, on the lawn of the Cox Fine Arts Center. West said the competition will include a people’s choice component where fairgoers can vote on their favorite murals.

Wheels of Agriculture Game Show: Though located in Kiddieland, this rapid-fire, TV-style game will appeal to all ages. After all, who doesn’t like winning prizes?

Tiny Art Show: Artists accepted into the Fine Arts Exhibition were given the chance to submit a small piece of artwork, priced at $250 or less, to display for sale. The benefits of the show are twofold: It supports local artists and allows art lovers to begin an art collection — or enhance an existing one — without breaking the bank.

Career Pathways: A new addition to the Lausche Youth Exploration Space is the Career Pathways program, where fairgoers of all ages can see life-size cutouts of personnel in the workforce — from a space-operations officer to a meat-inspection training officer — and learn about different career paths.

“It highlights about 15-16 individuals who are tied to different organizations within the Lausche Youth Exploration Space,” West said. “It shows a vast variety of different careers in Ohio in such a fun way for parents and kids to learn about careers and also about some amazing people.”

Strolling entertainers: Fair officials are keeping this one under wraps, saying only that fairgoers can expect to see some new faces ambling around the fairgrounds!

Poster contest: Chosen as the grand champion, artist Lindsay Boyd’s work will be available for purchase as postcard-sized prints at the official Ohio State Fair gift shops and the All Ohio Arts Gift Shop in the Cox Fine Arts Center. Also, the top five finalists’ posters will be displayed in Kasich Hall C.

Run Like a Girl 5K and 10K presented by Avina Women’s Care: If you need to work off some of that fair food, sign up for this all-female event taking place Aug. 4. Both races will begin at Historic Crew Stadium, pass the Ohio History Center and head into the fairground gates.

Participants who complete the course will be met at the finish line with medals and refreshments, as well as tickets to the fair. Part of the proceeds will benefit the March of Dimes. Registration is open until Aug. 3 at bit.ly/4brGyDS.

The 2024 Ohio State Fair runs July 24 through Aug. 4. A full list of events and attractions with times and locations can be found at ohiostatefair.com/events. 

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