Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Sun Sentinel.
Kids, if you’re going to the South Florida Fair this weekend know this: You must bring an adult with you.
This weekend, the last weekend of the two-week West Palm Beach festival, officials will enforce a new rule after 8:30 p.m.: Every minor must be accompanied by an adult, who has to show proof of age.
Kids and teens will also have to buy a ride wristband ($25 Monday through Friday, $40 on weekends) prior to entering the fair, whether they plan to go on a ride or not. This rule does not apply to advance ticket holders.
The fair began Jan. 14 and ends Jan. 30. There have been several changes this year, including a parking fee ($10) and a return to pre-pandemic size, after staging miniature and midsize versions of the annual carnival in 2021.
The fair did not cite any specific mayhem caused by minors over the past weeks, although the staff said youngsters have been “roaming” the site.
“These proactive procedures come in the wake of the number of unsupervised minors roaming the fairgrounds on the busiest nights of the fair,” according to a statement from Vicki Chouris, president and chief executive officer. “Friday and Saturday nights are our busiest times and we have observed that there are large numbers of unsupervised youth in the later weekend hours. These procedures will help to ensure that families can enjoy the full fair experience.”
This 110th edition of the fair has 200 spinning rides, livestock shows, midway games and a Robot Zoo, a 2,500-square-foot exhibit filled with animatronic rhinoceroses, a platypus, a housefly with a 10-foot wingspan and a giant squid with 18-foot tentacles.
Tickets at the gate are $15 Monday to Friday and $20 on Saturday and Sunday. Call 561-793-0333 or go to SouthFloridaFair.com.
People walk through the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach, Thursday, January 13, 2022. (Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
