Carnival & Fair News

The annual celebration of everything Buckeye State faced two challenges more than usual this year. Not only was this fair the inaugural event for Adam Heffron, but the fair is in the process of implementing its Expo 2050 Master Plan, an ambitious overhaul and renovation of the 360-acre Ohio Expo Center property. In terms of investment and design, Ohio's makeover of its fairgrounds is unsurpassed in scope, but planning for future fairs of tomorrow can pose potential problems when running a fair today.

By all metrics, the fair was a success, although impeded by the annual challenge of every fair – Mother Nature. Attendance reached 988,859 – below last year's 1,006,228, a record-breaking year, but a solid outing for this longstanding tradition. Attendance was negatively impacted by heat waves, rain and threats of rain.

Fair Experience

“The fair went very well from anyone I engaged with about their fair experience,” said Heffron, Executive Director/General Manager of the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair. “Fairs are very weather dependent. The first week, we had hot weather with temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s, along with threats of rain, which fortunately, held off. However, the second week, we saw extreme heat consistently in the 90s and multiple days of pop-up thunderstorms and lightning. Despite the hot and sometimes rainy weather, though, we had great revenue over the course of the event. In fact, a brief storm on Saturday afternoon didn't hurt attendance as people went in buildings and then got back outside to enjoy rides, food, and more.”



Heffron replaced Virgil Strickler, the long-time captain of the fair and technically was on the job just six months before opening day. His freshman year was spent in part staying out of the way of a well-oiled machine. “Virgil set us up for success, so in all it was a good first fair for me.” Heffron admitted. “My contributions were more aligned with being an observer, note taker and support to our staff. The team and our partners did such a good job planning and executing a wonderful event, I am proud of what they accomplished throughout the leadership transition,”

Key to any fair will be the team in place, and 2024 management largely consisted of “The decisions rendered had more to do with trouble shooting issues or challenges, supporting the team's plans and decisions, and staying out of the way as much as possible to let everyone do their jobs.”

Heffron, a seasoned fair veteran who did a stint at the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair in the Rental Department from 1994-1998, was impressed by how far the event has evolved. “The quality of the exposition has been elevated since I left in 1998 and some of my contributions back in the late 1990s are still in place to this day. Some of the most gratifying factors for me are that the people of Ohio love their State Fair, agriculture remains the theme of our story.”

Even with the overall dip in turnout, he noted that weekends were strong and fairgoer spending high. “We saw great attendance and revenue numbers on both Saturdays of the fair. Spending in 2024 was comparable to spending in 2023. In 2023, we saw noticeable revenue increases in many areas. We were fortunate that this trend continued into 2024.”

According to a post-fair report, the 2024 event generated $3.2 million in total midway (ride and game) revenue and $8.3 million in total vendor concession gross sales across the fairgrounds. The fair also expanded its community outreach promotions with 33,943 free admission tickets distributed to community and charitable organizations and free tickets offered statewide through library to all youths participating in the State Library of Ohio Summer Reading Program.

HEY OHIO!

The fair maintained a similar marketing budget as 2023, approximately $420,000. The fair has developed a signature line that's inviting and sassy – HEY OHIO! “Our campaign for this year, and for the next few years, is centered around the tagline “HEY OHIO!” 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 marketing media allocation was also nearly identical to 2023: Digital and social media: 43 percent; TV: 24.8 percent; Radio: 13.9 percent; Outdoor: 12.5 percent; Movie Theater: 2.5 percent; and Print: 2.6 percent.”

Social Media followers also increased, with the fair emphasizing video, information transmissions and customer engagement. “Our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts all saw growth this year,” he said. “Like many other organizations, we do our best to merge trends and information. Our social media accounts are used for a lot of fun such as short-form videos or reels of entertainers at the fair, however, it's also informational in the sense that we're sharing information about concerts, competitions, admission ticket deals, parking, and other pertinent information.”

Talley Midway

The Talley Amusements Midway showcased 67 rides (Main Midway – 33; Kiddieland – 34), including the Ohio debuts of Thunderfest (Wisdom Himalaya); A.R.M. Hardrock (Rockstar); Defender (Fabbri Booster), according to Heffron. Top grossing rides included: Lamberink Giant wheel; Fast Trax slide, and Alien Abduction.

“We partnered with the best mobile amusement company in the business – Talley Amusements, and the presentation and production of the fair will be greatly enhanced with the Expo 2050 project set for phase 1 completion in time for the 2026 fair.”



According to Mary Talley of Talley Amusements, the project impacted the layout of the midway, but “I liked the changes, it made the flow of people easier to control. I'm very excited about how the final project will look.”

In the meantime, this year the carnival company refocused on aesthetics, amenities and enhancing the fairgoer experience. Talley added 16 more Magic Money Kiosks, giving fairgoers more than 100 points-of-sale. Except for a cash option at the food stands, all rides and games are now completely cashless. The show also added a plethora of flowers, plants, and other beatification measures. The latter she credited her collaboration with Tracy Westmoreland of Tracy Concessions. “We've been working together on landscaping all the time. Midway beautification has always been important to Talley. We're able to create more of a park-like look and feel.”

Although “weather was an issue” – it was mainly heat and the threat of thunderstorms, with forecasts discouraging fair attendance even though the skies cleared. Talley declared the “first Saturday was huge” and in the end, 2024 only reaffirmed her faith in the future of the fair. “Tommy and I are extremely pleased with Governor Mike DeWine's decision to select for the Ohio State Fair [Executive Director/General Manager] Adam Heffron. He is well known and respected in the industry with a proven track record and he's ready to move the fair to the next level.”

New Food Avenue

Last year, the Ohio State Fair ranked 15 on the Top 50 Carnival Warehouse list of fairs. Talley feels that with the ambitious such as the new project upgrades reach fruition it could move into one of the upper tiers of the list. “This fair has a lot of potential.”

The fair featured 142 food vendors, and Ohioans exhibited a strong demand for traditional fair cuisine. Bought and consumed at the 2024 fair: 42,000 lemonades or lemon shake ups; 21,992 corn dogs; 18,515 ears of roasted corns; 16,480 funnel cakes; 16,115 slices of pizza; and 13,800 orders of French fries.




But this year's fair food selection didn't rely on traditional fair food alone. The fair introduced – New Food Avenue – which Heffron described as a “stretch of six food vendors that were new to the Ohio State Fair as well as stands sponsored by The Ohio Poultry Association”

With weather issues and a phased-in makeover, how does the new captain at the helm feel about his first fair? “Overall, the 12 days of the fair showed successful metrics across the board.”