2026 Ohio State Fair

Ohio's State Bird watches over the Cardinal Gate at the Fair

I went down to the Ohio State Fair on Saturday for the first time in about twenty-five or thirty years.

It's pretty different now from the last time I visited. The fairgrounds used to have a layout very similar to the Lorain County Fair. It had a big track in the middle and a grandstand for visitors to watch the concerts and attractions, with the whole thing surrounded by food vendors and buildings for the livestock. But I had forgotten that the track and grandstand were removed back in the 1990s. So it all looks very different.  The now-expanded Midway with all the rides practically rivals Cedar Point. And that's where all the biggest crowds were congregated. 

Back when I was a member of the All-Ohio State Fair Band in 1976, I knew the fairgrounds like the back of my hand. But now, with all the new, huge, buildings built in the last few decades – one for concerts, one with an incredible variety of sit-down restaurants, one that's like a mini IX Center, I had a hard time even finding the Rhodes Center, where I stayed during my time at the Fair. It's still the home of the All-Ohio State Fair Band. And it looks the same as it did in 1976. 

I was able to catch part of a concert by the current Band. They played their concert in the Rhodes Center auditorium rather than an outdoor venue such as the Natural Resource area or the Rhodes Center lawn. I never saw them 'ballyhoo' around the Fair either. But it was just as well, because it was hot.

For lunch, it was a Brady tradition to head over to the Schmidt's outdoor restaurant for a brat. Our family visited the main restaurant in German Village many times over the years, so we always hit the Fair outlet too. My bratwurst was excellent of course. It was so big I couldn't even fit it all in the photo!

Another Brady tradition was to go see the Butter Cow, in the Dairy Building. In the old days, you just had to know it was in there – there was no sign outside. But that's not the case now.

And just as before, it's virtually impossible to take a photo of the buttery bovine without some reflection from the many windows showing up in the picture. But I like the top-hatted calf; that's some well-dressed veal.

I saw as much of the Fair as I could. The Bricker Building had information booths and exhibits from all the government agencies. In the ODOT booth, I was surprised to see a display of vintage die-cut highways signs from the old days. They looked like the real thing to me. The numbers are actual highways in Ohio.

But for me, the high point of my visit to the Fair was yet another Brady tradition: going to see Smokey Bear in the Natural Resources Park. I hadn't yet seen the new animatronic version that was installed in 2015. It replaced the Smokey that had been there since 1959 (the year I was born).

Smokey looked great. He's animatronic, but curiously didn't move his arms while I was there – just his muzzle when he talked. I was a little disappointed that no attempt was made by whoever was doing his voice to mimic the gruff, low, familiar sound of the real Smokey that we all remember from TV and radio commercials. The Ohio State Fair Smokey just sounded like a young, glib car salesman. Kids seemed to stay away from him out of fear.

What was neat, though, was that behind Smokey was a historic 60-foot steel lookout fire tower that was originally built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps in Pike County. It was moved to the fairgrounds in 2016. It used to be slightly taller but was shortened when moved and reassembled.

Soon, it was time to go, and I bid farewell to the Ohio State Fair – probably for good. It was interesting going back after so long but I felt a little wistful. The Fair I remember is long gone, but the current one is arguably better now – bigger, with more rides, more air-conditioned buildings and more family-friendly activities.

But my consolation is that Lorain County Fair time – my favorite time of year – is almost here. And I can't wait.