South Carolina State Fair 2018, Fairgrounds: 21 October 2018 5 comments
So this year I had the theory that I would get to the Fair down Assembly Street. "It's a straight shot", I thought, "No left turns like Rosewood or Shop Road".
And three hours after leaving Forest Acres, I met my party at the Rocket.
If you've been following the blog for a while, you know the kinds of things I like, so the pictures won't be any surprise, but I still like 'em.
The handwriting computer and grey-market videos are still absent, otherwise the mix of exhibits and vendors is about the same as in recent years. I still miss the Steel Building, but the dinosaur park in its space seems popular with the kids.
Somehow, the baby duck slide made it through another year, and Fair Food still rules.
I am reliably informed that Parasaurolophus is the coolest dinosaur.
You can tell a carnival artist, Hey, it's a kiddie ride!, but they know what they like..
I have to say I don't remember the calliope at all, and I started going in the '60s. Of course since my strongest memory of those years is the South Carolina Egg Board booth where you could shine a light into chicken eggs and see all the ways they could go wrong, that may not be surprising. Anyway, seems like if they still have it around, they could fire it up and let us hear it..
Well, that's it for this year.
5 Responses to 'South Carolina State Fair 2018, Fairgrounds: 21 October 2018'
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Dustin
28 Oct 18 at 12:24 pm
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If you think the place/space it's in now is small, them imagine when it was on Elmwood about where Logan School is now. They moved to where they are now because they outgrew that area, and it's been there since I think the 1920's. But you also have to remember, not as many people lived here in SC and Columbia at that time. The Fair's rides have really gone downhill compared to what it used to be such as the Double Ferris Wheel, the Himalaya, The Flying Coaster, The Toboggan, The Round Up, the large glass houses, the larger sized fun houses, and the original "Steel Building" where you could buy all sorts of cheap stuff and gadgets and get free things too. The good days of the State Fair disapeared by the early 2000's. You cant get good junk food anymore, now it's all healthy stuff ..and who wants that? Just remember, it's South Carolina and Columbia..Not Atlanta or Charlotte.
Del
28 Oct 18 at 2:47 pm
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I could really pin-point the problem with the State Fair and why it's really gone down hill, but it would get me kicked off this site for good. Nothing stays the same whether it's a good thing or not. And in the case of the State Fair, it's not worth the time or effort to complain about. Go if you wanna go, or dont go if you dont wanna go. I personally would rather spend the money and go to Six Flags in Georgia or maybe Carowinds..it may cost more, but they have better rides and more things to do.
Del
28 Oct 18 at 2:51 pm
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The rides I saw looked like a lot of fun and the food I ate was certainly not healthy. Games of chance, livestock barns and racing pigs. It's all good.
Joe Shlabotnik
30 Oct 18 at 7:28 pm
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Why can't anyone do a good italian sausage sandwich outside the fair?
ted
30 Oct 18 at 11:38 pm
The SC State Fair is fun but I have realized it pales in comparison to so many other state fairs in other states I’ve been to. Throw in an RV and Boat showing, model home showings, and invite additional state or federal agencies to showcase and you would have a hit. It doesn’t help that the state fairgrounds space is so small to begin with.