My family visited the Ohio State Fair, together, this past Sunday for the first time ever. The fact that we could attend as a family was incredible since those events are few and far between these days. While the fair has plenty of exhibits, barns full of animals, and rides, we were there for one thing and one thing only. To eat. Of course, our eyes were much bigger than our appetites so we couldn’t sample nearly the amount of food we had planned to.
The Ohio State Fair has nearly 190 food and drink vendors this year. That’s a lot of food! To say the food choices are overwhelming is an understatement. You’ll find everything from classic fair fries and funnel cakes to poutine tots and just about fried anything.
To narrow down your options, it may help to think about what you want to eat before you arrive at the fair and give yourself a budget so you don’t overspend. Another thing to consider is that many of the vendors only accept cash. If you opt to withdraw cash at one of the ATM’s located on the fairgrounds, it will cost you a hefty $5 processing fee in addition to charges imposed by your bank. Learn from my mistake.
Some of the new food options at the fair include:
- Cereal & Milk Ice Cream in the Taste of Ohio Café by Velvet Ice Cream
- Sweet and savory crepe from Martin’s Fine Foods.
- Totchoesby Dickerson & Kenna- a combination of nachos and tator tots.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies by Eaton Cookies
- Specialty Tater Totsby Fun Time Foods
- Deep-Fried Tacosby Bailey Concessions
- Deep-Fried Cheese Curdsby Squeaky’s Cheese Shack the new food items don’t sound appetizing, don’t worry. The Fair will continue to have your go-to Fair foods such as funnel cakes, lemon shake-ups, corn dogs and more!
I would love to have tried the Totchoes but by the time I’d finished eating my favorite fair foods, my belly was beyond full- and that was sharing food with my family! In the few short hours, we were at the fair, we shared a dinner from Schmidt’s, a Pork dinner from the Taste of Ohio Café, a Root Beer Float, deep fried Oreos, French fries, an elephant ear and a massive dole whip in a pineapple. The pineapple drink may have earned me mother of the year as far as my daughter was concerned. Take a look at this beauty.
You can find your favorite fair foods by visiting the OhioStateFair.com and accessing the Ohio State Fair Food Finder. You can plot your course around the fair if you map your route at home or pulling up the website on your phone while at the fair. You can also visit the website to learn about the special daily events, entertainment, and exhibits.
In addition to the delicious fair food, my family enjoyed the Fine Arts Building, the Natural Resources Park- which I could have spent all day exploring- the parade, giant yellow slide, and pig races. My husband and I also appreciated the shuttle that transports guests from one side of the fair to the other. There is so much to do at the Ohio State Fair that I was blown away and more than a little disappointed that we didn’t have more time to explore.
Are you planning to visit the 2017 Ohio State Fair? Don’t miss it. Everything packs up on Sunday, August 6th. Looking for more information about the fair? Visit https://ohiostatefair.com/.
Don’t forget the 7 Ohio State Fair Icons you don’t want to Miss! While you’re in the city, you may as well explore. Be sure to read about more things to do in Columbus Ohio.
Disclosure: I was provided entry to the fair, ride tickets, and some food passes in order to share my experience with you. All opinions are my own.