THE BALLOON MAN

Thousands attend opening weekend of state fair

The Ferris wheel lights up the night sky Saturday evening at the STate Fair of Louisiana. / Henrietta Wildsmith/ The Times

Written byLoresha Wilson

from: shreveporttimes.com

Oct. 31, 2011

Trinity Shoats climbed onto the Power at the Louisiana State Fair on Sunday to be strapped in the harness before zooming 150 feet into the air.
Despite a yell as she headed downward, she down played the scare factor."It was all right," said Shoats, of Minden. "It's a little high — and then you have to come down. That's the bad part."

Shoats was among thousands who attended Louisiana State Fair during its opening weekend.Rain and cool temperatures during the first few days put a damper on attendance. However, sunny skies Saturday and Sunday drew big crowds.

General Manager Chris Giordano said with 3,000 plus fairgoers on Saturday alone, the carnival might be on par with its usual first-two-day numbers.Official crowd estimates will not be released until after an audit, he said."Last year we had perfect weather for the opening, so it's definitely slightly down," Giordano said."We're expecting over 400,000 people during the run of the fair and I'm very optimistic going into the second week."We have plenty of time to make up the grounds for the rain and cool temperatures.

"The 105th annual State Fair of Louisiana opened on Thursday and continues through Nov. 13.

The fairgrounds is lined with more than 200 vendors and more than 60 carnival rides. New this year is the Giant Ferris Wheel. Other rides include the Freak Out and the Sea Dragon.

Free entertainment remains a strong part of the fair, with a large number of competitors in the livestock arena."A lot of people come into the fair and are interested in the carnival, but there are a lot of things you don't have to pay for," Giordano said. "We have the Hollywood Racing Pigs, the Rockit Robot, the Bubble Show and Kids Town America.

People are really enjoying it.

"Some visitors just come for the food."We come out every year to eat," said Shreveporter Shirley Harris. "You can eat a corn dog at home but it just doesn't taste like the ones you get at the fair."The food menu at the fair also includes deep fried Kool-Aid, Krispy Krème Donut Burgers, fried watermelon and Rocky Mountain oysters.