Carnival & Fair News

Florida's famous nickname – the Sunshine State – proved unusually apt for the 2025 Florida State Fair. A run of mostly ideal Florida winter weather – a snowbird paradise – accompanied the event, increasing attendance over last year's figures and setting new midway spending records.

As luck would have it, the weather lived up to not only Florida's trademark metrological standards, but the event's cleverly engaging marketing tagline – Let Your Funshine – a play on words whose pun also references the instant-ear worm Age of Aquarius theme from the musical Hair.

According to Cheryl Flood, Executive Director of the Florida State Fair, the hiding-in-plain sight idea intended to invoke the fair experience also extended its branding-by-association spotlight to highlight the fair's mascot – Sunny – introduced two fairs ago. “We developed the new concept to celebrate individual moments of joy at the fair and to further elevate the profile our mascot, Sunny, and the “Sunshine” of Florida.”

The mascot also hosted Sunny Nights an “evening water stunt show produced by Bello Nock” featuring the Florida State Fair's mascot and “LED illumination on the center water feature at the fairgrounds,” she said.

The Let Your Funshine theme was carried throughout the fair's advertising budget, approximately $530,000, a dip of about 4 percent from 2024. The media allocation showed an increase in OOH and reduction in traditional broadcast TV and Radio compared to 2023. Media buys for 2025: Print 7.5 percent; Broadcast 40 percent; OOH 28 percent; Digital and Social 24.5 percent.

Enhancing fairgoer's Funshine were key changes to the fair's social media marketing campaign including an expanded influencer network, improved content quality and more precise targeting. “We initiated a paid influencer campaign activated across all platforms and we deployed video content in place of static content wherever possible to effectively increase engagement,” she said, adding that the most effective social media platform remains “Facebook, as it reaches our broadest audience and primary target. However, for reaching our younger adults, TikTok content and reach is most effective. “

Attendance Upticks

The tagline and new marketing approach – plus a kind and cooperative Mother Nature – resulted in one of the most successful Florida State Fairs in its long history. Attendance reached  397,992, an increase of 17.5 percent overall (Paid attendance: +24 percent; Unpaid attendance -8.7 percent). The fair's third highest attended Saturday reached 70,061.

The weather was “sunny and warm with the exception of a rainy day on the final Sunday,” said Flood. An enticing atmosphere encouraging extended stays and free spending by attendees. “Fairgoers came for a great experience and with money to spend.  As a result, per capita spending was at a record.  Vendors and concessionaires were extremely pleased with sales and guest impressions as they were last year as well. Guests enjoyed our improved footprint, expanded seating areas and improved navigation with the new Florida State Fair app.”

Flood noted that  the vibe was upbeat and positive. “Attendees came prepared to stay and spend and have fun. Vendors and concessionaires were very pleased with sales and some had record days.  New gate promotions targeted and attracted new guests, such as the Hospitality and Service Industry Day.”    

Wade Shows Midway

She added, “Financial results were notable with the highest gate revenue in the last ten years.  Advance ticket sales hit a new record, and we also broke the $5M mark on the midway for just the third time.  With our per capita spend up at both the gate and midway, we had our second-best combined admission and midway revenue as well.”

The Wade Shows midway was up 36.88 percent compared to 2024, which featured 88 rides. Flood noted the midway company introduced several new additions to its lineup. “We were excited to work with Wade Shows to offer fairgoers new thrills on the midway for our 2025 fair, including the 177 ft. high Thunderbird swing ride and the Kraken, the first traveling, mega pendulum-style ride having recently made its U.S. debut,” she said. “Younger guests were equally dazzled by the new Candy Adventure Fun House offering a sensory journey through a 130ft. sweets-inspired fun house.”



“While we are very proud of our 33 years of history and accomplishments at the Florida State Fair,  our attitude has always been the past is nice but today and tomorrow is what counts”, said Frank Zaitshik, Wade Shows' owner adding, “2025 typified that attitude with the addition of the first of its kind in North America Kraken, Thunderbird, and our new Funhouse/Glasshouse/Raiders combination ride, Candyland Adeventure”

Tour & Crawl

Spending was likewise strong for the fair's food concessions,  which number 163 vendors. The Florida State Fair has constantly spiced up its Foodie-cred with  several food promotions including a Fair Food Tour and a Fair Food Crawl. The former included a contest for new foods in special categories: Best Savory – Pierogi Slider; Best Sweet –Peachey's Chocolate Dunked Bavarian Cream Donut; and Fan Favorite: The Dad Bod Burger.

The Fair Food Crawl copied the popular pub-crawl model, where for $25 participants received a souvenir t-shirt and samples of a full-range of fair cuisine, such as –The Cheesy Tater Corn Dog, Deep-Fried Strawberry Lemonade Shortcake, 12” Corn Dog, Cheesy Sriracha Funnel Cake Bites, Cheeseburger on a Stick, Ice Cream Beads in flavors like Sweet Heat Jalapeño Chocolate and a Cookies and Cream Cinnamon Roll.



According to Flood, the best sellers of this year's fair included: “Smitty's Buttermilk Corndog, Peachey's Donut's and Pretzels, Golden Kdog's Authentic Korean Corn Dog, The Chocolate Tap's offerings – 1,100lbs of chocolate!”

This year's selections were more varied than ever before, further enhancing the event's growing reputation as a foodie destination. “We offered a more diverse assortment of food and beverage that was appreciated and perhaps expected by our diverse audience – including gluten free, vegan and healthier food options,” said Flood.



Food promotions were truly a multi-course Florida affair. Not only were the tour and crawl covered by numerous local news and social media outlets, but “we revamped and re-introduced some old-school fair favorites that drew fans and accolades,” said Flood. “The expanded food eating contests were hugely popular, packing the viewing area and featuring different food each day of the 12-day fair.  Sunday guest hosts for the funnel cake eating contest included ranked professional competitive eaters, Nick Wehry and Miki Sudo.”

She added, “After decades, we brought back the fan favorite, beloved butter sculpture installation by Jim Victor and Marie Pelton of Conshohocken, Penn.”

Other highlights of this year's fair included ABBA Nova  (Abba cover band) and Jurassic Kingdom by Colonia Productions “which drew capacity crowds with their popular, interactive show for children with multiple daily performances,” she said.

The 2024 fair suffered from a rained out closing weekend, negatively impacting revenue. This year's event occurred fewer than 90 days after Hurricane Milton, which ravaged the fairground and caused event cancelling, resulting in approximately $8 million in losses. “Despite these setbacks, our team remained committed to recovery efforts, repairing damages, supporting local and state communities in hurricane relief, hosting the largest RV show in the country, and ultimately preparing for the State Fair. By the time we opened the 2025 Florida State Fair, there was an overwhelming sense of relief just to be able to open the gates when we had gone through a time of uncertainty. Fortunately, we experienced a highly successful and smooth event, one of the easiest in my history, which was especially gratifying given the challenges of the past year. This experience has reinforced the importance of counting our blessings rather than dwelling solely on struggles.”