Carnival & Fair News

A heatwave, thunderstorms, and fairground construction sites would be challenges for any fair. But the Ohio State Fair has undertaken one of the most ambitious buildouts in the entire fair industry, yet also overcame considerable obstacles in 2025.

But through determination, well-thought-out planning, and productive partnerships with state government, its midway provider, and other vendors, the 2025 celebration of everything Buckeye continued its upward trajectory.

The fair is in the process of implementing its Expo 2050 Master Plan, an ambitious $460 million overhaul and renovation of the 360-acre complex, which began last year and includes two new buildings and renovations to four existing buildings, a new Ohio-themed carousel, a "town square" area with a performance amphitheater, underground infrastructure work, renovation of an abandoned armory into a parking garage, and a new main entry gate.

“The 2025 Ohio State Fair welcomed thousands of guests this year to celebrate all things Ohio,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “Ohio is the heart of it all, and the Ohio State Fair brings families and friends together to celebrate the best of what Ohio has to offer. This year a brand-new entrance gate welcomed fairgoers to the grounds, and next year we will have even more improvements to celebrate, including a revamped Dairy Products Building, a new Ohio-themed carousel, and the brand-new Ohio Showcase Building and Ohio Agriculture Center.”

In the meantime, this year's event attracted 969,082 attendees, a mere 2 percent downtick from the 2024 Ohio State Fair's 988,859. Standout crowds included both Saturdays, the second of which set a daily attendance record with a turnout of more than 150,000.

The drop can be attributed to Mother Nature's fickleness this summer. “Weather was certainly a factor for the first week of the Ohio State Fair with hot, humid days in the 90s along with thunderstorms in the evenings,” said Alicia Shoults, Marketing & Public Relations Director, Ohio Expo Center & State Fair. “However, the last three days of the Fair we saw perfect weather conditions in the 70s and low 80s with sunny skies. Despite getting off to a hot and rainy start, revenue increased in a few areas over 2024, including parking, paid concerts, and food concessions.”

But the downtick in attendance was overshadowed by an uptick in spending, everywhere but the midway, which saw a nominal decline in revenue. ”With a slight decrease in midway revenue but increases in other areas such as paid concert revenue, parking, and concessionaire revenue, total gross revenue increased from 2024 despite the 2 percent decrease in attendance,” said Shoults.

In spite of a strong fair and closing weekend, the early heatwave negatively impacted midway revenue. “We rallied the last weekend to be pretty close to 2024 numbers,” said Mary Talley of Talley Amusements. “We had lots of high heat and rain for the first 9 days. We always enjoy working with the folks at the Ohio State Fair. We look forward to the 2026 fair as all the renovations should be completed.”

Sophomore Year

“It was a true celebration of Ohio!” said Adam Heffron, Executive Director/General Manager of the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair. “The 12 days of the Ohio State Fair are not possible without the year-round work of exhibitors, vendors, volunteers, youth organizations, state agencies, law enforcement, sponsors, and, of course, the staff here at the Ohio Expo Center & State Fairgrounds. A successful Fair would not be possible without all of those groups, as well as our fairgoers from across the state, the country, and beyond.”

It was Heffron's second fair as ED/GM, but his first fair after a full year in the top spot. How much of a difference does a full year under the belt make for a fair manager as opposed to only a few months?

“The difference was significant for me personally,” said Heffron. “A little experience gained from my first fair made me better prepared for what was ahead of me each day of my second fair. The State Fair staff executes the event plan, and they have done an excellent job with that task my two fairs and will certainly do the same going forward. The learning curve for me will continue with the completion of our Expo 2050 Master Plan, which presents us with new buildings and a very different grounds layout in 2026. These massive enhancements, with the completion of the entire construction project, mean the entire staff will plan an entirely new fair in 2026, like I did in 2024.”

HEY OHIO!

Under Heffron's leadership – a seasoned fair veteran who earlier (1994-1998) in his career cut his teeth in the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair Rental Department – the fair has reemphasized the event's unabashed Ohio boosterism. The fair has foregone selecting an annual marketing tagline, instead focusing on year-to-year branding in recent marketing cycles with a literal callout to the buckeye in all of us. “Our campaign, which is often utilized for a handful of years, has centered on the tagline ‘HEY OHIO!,'” Shoults explained. “This line was used in many ways throughout our digital, TV, outdoor, radio, and other advertisements, as well as on social media and on different signage pieces on the grounds.”

The advertising budget remained comparable to 2024, approximately $425,000. The media-buy continued its digital drift. The 2025 Media Mix was – Digital and social media: 43.5 percent; TV: 27.5 percent; Radio: 11.8 percent; Outdoor: 11.8 percent; Movie Theater: 2.8 percent; and Print: 2.5 percent. “Our media mix followed roughly the same mix as 2024 with a slight uptick in digital and TV spends over radio and print,” said Shoults.

Like other fairs and similar outdoor events, social media not only spearheads the marketing campaign of the Ohio State Fair, but does so in ever-innovative ways by extending and expanding its engagement with fairgoers. “Almost all of the Fair's social media accounts saw growth from 2024 through the end of the 2025 Ohio State Fair and we had an incredible response on social media during this year's Fair,” she explained. “It's been a fun and strategic adventure over the past several years as we follow the trends of social media to keep the Fair's social media fun and relevant while sharing necessary information about admission, competitions, parking, concerts, and other pertinent information.”

Grandstand Sellouts

The 2025 Ohio State Fair also reaffirmed its reputation as a premier Midwestern summer stage. The fair snagged a diverse headliner lineup whose top sellers included Foreigner, Leanne Morgan, T-Pain, and AJR with special guest Valley. “We had concerts that really stood out this year and drew fantastic crowds,” said Shoults. “The lineup for the 2025 Ohio State Fair was incredible with a handful of shows selling out or nearing the sellout point. We are fortunate to have a dedicated internal team, as well as contract with Triangle Talent, to build a desirable lineup that appeals to a wide range of music lovers while keeping concerts budget-conscious for the fairgoers.”

In addition to the entertainment lineup, this year's 134 food vendor locations served up $8.4 million in total gross sales of fair cuisine. Buckeye Lemonade – “Traditional Lemonade infused with creamy peanut butter and chocolate” – and New Tea Blend – Jumbo Iced Tea – a vendor at the fair since 1982, this year crafted their signature blend with premium Argentine tea leaves. Other new foods whetting fairgoer appetites this year were BluRaz Crunch Funnel Cake; Caramel Apple Cream Puff - Schmidt's; Chocolate or Vanilla Ghost Pepper Fudge; Cookie Milk Ice Pop; Deep Fried Taco; Grilled Orange Chicken Egg Roll; Hickory French Fries; Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Dog; Smashburgers; Strawberry Kettle Corn; and Wisconsin Cheese Curds in several new flavors, including White Cheddar Bacon, Yellow Cheddar Jalapeno, Yellow Cheddar Ghost Pepper, White Cheddar Dill Pickle, and White Cheddar Funnel Cake.

“The new foods selection at this year's Ohio State Fair was really robust with some fun, wacky, and unusual offerings such as buckeye lemonade, cookie dough deviled egg, ghost pepper fudge, Korean corn dogs, and several other delicious bites,” added Shoults. More than $8.4 million in total vendor concession gross sales were recorded in 2025.

But the newbies could not compete with the tried-and-true, once-a-year comfort foods: 90,146 lemonades (all types); 55,806 orders of fries; 53,030 foods-on-sticks; 28,699 corn dogs; and 22,897 funnel cakes.

Talley Amusements

Talley Amusements featured a 31-ride main Midway and 34-ride Kiddieland, plus the iconic Skyglider, the tramway spanning the entire fair. The fair featured new rides – Bumper Boats and a Tivoli Scorpion – according to Shoults, who said that this year's top-grossing rides were the Lamberink Giant Wheel, Fast Trax Slide, and Thunder Fest (a re-themed Wisdom Himalaya). A notable 60,000+ rides on the SkyGlider were recorded.

According to the fair, this year brought in more than $3 million in total midway revenue. “It's an honor to be part of the Ohio State Fair's growth,” said Talley. “We're proud to bring safe, fun experiences to fairgoers and look forward to growing alongside the fair.”

While some areas of the fairgrounds were under construction as part of this phase of the Master Plan, the midway was not impacted. “The midway was the same as last year,” said Talley. “If anything, we lost some space. They are installing fiber, so that will be great for digital ticketing.”

The construction has been ongoing. The 2025 fair was not the first event on the fairgrounds to occur simultaneously with the temporary barriers and large pieces of construction equipment. The fair has minimized the impact on operations while keeping stakeholders and fairgoers focused on the near future.

“We've been under construction since Thanksgiving of 2023, so we have now managed to successfully navigate both the 2024 and 2025 Fairs with construction fencing in place for various areas,” Shoults explained. “Navigating through construction progress with the Fair, as well as all of our other year-round events underway, has been a challenge, but one that teamwork and a solution-focused mindset has allowed us to positively manage.”

The fact is that progress on implementing the plan was also evident to all attendees. “Several projects are already completed, including a new 850-spot parking lot, a renovated First Aid Center, a new main entry gate, as well as underground infrastructure and the hardscaping and landscaping in select areas.”

A successful fair is also a key stepping stone forward. “The 2025 Ohio State Fair was a big win for Ohio and saw impressive metrics across the board,” she said.

This event, poised for expanded programming after cultivating loyal followings, has retained a relevancy with which many fairs still grapple. The Ohio State secret seems to be understanding that to serve your community you first must know your community.

“Fairs have remained so relevant for decades and even centuries because they represent and celebrate their surrounding communities,” said Shoults. “From the 94 county and independent fairs across Ohio to the state fair, and fairs in other states and countries, they are a symbol and representation of the surrounding community and a celebration of the people they represent. The Ohio State Fair holds strong to this same idea and represents and celebrates so many facets of Ohio while maintaining our strong agricultural roots.”