Florida State Fair Had A Successful 2018 Run The Florida State Fair was busy readying


their grounds for the 2018 edition of the event. The fair hosts the largest RV show in the state in January, just prior to the fair, so a quick turn- around was needed, which kept the fair staff on their toes. “Its almost like running back to back fairs,”


said Cheryl Flood, the Executive Director of the Florida State Fair Authority, her second year at the helm of the event. Flood said the fair saw some big changes in


2018. While she made some adjustments in 2017, she mostly used her time to learn the fair’s operation and talk to event guests to see what they were looking for in the State Fair. Flood, a young mother herself, saw a lack of


acts geared towards younger fair goers and set about making a change in her event. In 2017, she booked Meet and Greets with Shopkins characters and Peppa Pig, and based upon the success of those events, she increased the fair’s offerings to the younger attendees in 2018. This year's fair featured Chase and Marshall


from Paw Patrol as well as Rusty and Ruby from the show Rusty Rivets. All four characters are TV superstars to young guests and the feedback on social media has been tremen- dous. Flood also partnered with Spectrum, the cable company to bring in characters from Nick- elodeon’s Fairly Odd Parents during the second weekend. In a first of its kind in that nation partnership,


Flood worked closely with WEDU, the local PBS station, to program the 6,000 square foot “Red Room” in the Florida Center. WEDU brought 18 characters from PBS Kid’s TV shows both classic and new and combining the character appearances with educational activi- ties and crafts such as story time, a dance party and make and take crafts. “They tell me this was one of the largest gath-


ering of PBS characters in one place ever and we were so proud to be hosting this event at the Florida State Fair,” enthused Flood. Guests entering the PBS Kids Fun Zone got to meet classic characters Elmo, Arthur, Curious George, Clifford and the Man in the Yellow Hat as well as new shows like Buddy Dinosaur, Peg + Cat, Jet Propulsion and the Super Why gang. For those slightly older, especially those in


the pre-teen years, Flood booked an act that had been touring amusement parks with current Nickelodeon and Disney Stars. The Teen Stars Live Tour made a stop at the Florida State Fair February 10th and 11th, with stars from Dis- ney’s Austin and Alley, Raven’s Home and


FAIRCRACKER-SPRING 2018


Bunk’d. The show also featured one of the stars from Nickelodeon’s top show, the Thunder- mans. Teen Stars Live performed two free shows


each day in Entertainment Hall as well as host- ed a paid VIP meet and greet after most perfor- mances. The stars of the shows made short videos for the fair’s social media pages, intro- duced contests and invited Tampa-area tweens to come and see them live on stage. The second weekend, Feb. 16th and 17th,


Flood took a traditional community event and gave it a star-studded twist. The inaugural Flori- da State Fair Dance Championships Semi- Finals and Finals took place over two days on the fairgrounds but the twist is the finals will be judged by TV stars Chloe, Christi and Gianna from the hit show “Dance Moms.” The fair partnered with a local dance compa-


ny to run the dance contest phase of the event and they reached out to a celebrity agent to negotiate the appearance of the TV stars. Once again, the stars made videos encouraging dance entries on the fair’s website and each of the videos received a lot of buzz and excite- ment. Flood realized that she was taking somewhat


of a risk by booking entertainment options that were not normally found at other fairs but she believed the time was right to be looking for those things that will gain the attention of a new generation of fairgoers. “In order for us to be remain relevant with the


next generation, we had to adapt our entertain- ment and programming to meet the needs and interests of today’s youth. We don’t have the luxury of remaining stagnant. I want the fair to be a great blend of tradition, agriculture as well as what’s new and exciting. I think a lot of fairs do the first two very well, it’s the new and excit- ing that is sometimes the hardest to pull off. Hopefully we did that this year,” she added. Another area of the fair that received an infu-


sion of new life in 2018 was the covered arena area of the fair where in the past, the fair has hosted horse pulls, tractor pulls and lawnmower races. Seeing the popularity of these events in 2017, Flood expanded what the fair had to offer in 2018. New this year was a daily BMX/FMX Thrill Show, a Mini Monster Truck Show on Feb- ruary 9th and 10th and the return of a demolition derby to the fair after a multi-decade absence on February 17th. “This ‘Extreme Sports Series’ as we called it, is a perfect example


of watching what went on in 2017 and learning from it. Seeing the crowds we got last year, I knew we should be offering more in 2018” said Flood. Community partnerships and marketing had


also been a focus for Flood in 2018. The fair was able to restart a relationship with Publix Stores to sell advance sale tickets, a relation- ship Flood was very happy to put together. “Publix is an iconic Florida brand and they were my first choice as we were looking for a new advance sale partner in 2018,” she said. In addition to Publix, the fair developed or


expanded relationships with Hungry Howie's and Coca Cola, along with retailers Family Dollar, 7-Eleven and Save A Lot. The fair’s partnership with Hungry Howie's included a box top and coupon promotion in over 100 locations promoting the Hungry Howie’s Family nights where 2 adults and 2 children received admis- sion and rides for only $50 Monday through Thursday. Hungry Howie's helped to advertise the promotion and they held a pizza eating contest on the grounds February 13th. Coca Cola, a long time fair partner, began a new Coke Day promotion this year, with 7-Eleven, Save A Lot and Family Dollar as promotional partners. On the last day of the fair, February 19th, guests with an empty Coke product re- ceived fair admission for only $5, an $8 sav- ings. Through the retailers, the promotion was in as many as 500 stores throughout the great- er Tampa area. “I’m looking forward to another great event in 2019” said Flood.


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