South Florida Fair Kicks off Magical Fair Season
There were at least 17 magical moments of the South Florida Fair, which was held January 12- 28 at the South Florida Fair- grounds in West Palm Beach, Florida. The fair’s New Orleans’
theme and Mardi Gras parades were so popular last year that organizers decided the entire theme should focus on parades in 2018. Thus, the “Magical Parades” theme was created to celebrate the fair’s 106th edition. The South Florida Fair featured a famous parade from around the world
every day of its 17-day run, complete with authentic music, colorful cos- tumes and highly decorated floats, which also were on display in its “Magical Parades” exhibition. Float riders delighted fairgoers as they tossed beads into the crowds
and the fair’s two signature Bike Nite parades attracted more than 400 motorcyclists each night followed by Atlanta Rhythm Section and Grand Funk Railroad concerts. Other highlights included the fair’s debut of North America’s largest, portable observation wheel. Promoted as the “ride
of a lifetime,” this massive wheel reaches a peak height of 155 feet, is comprised of more than 500 pieces, and is equipped with more than 524,000 individual LED red, green, blue, yellow, orange and purple lights, making it the bright- est spectacle at the fair. The 36 gondolas hold six riders each, who remarked that they could see for miles from the top. The Stars of the Peking Acrobats, who have been
wowing audiences with their Chinese acrobatics for the past 32 years, amazed their audiences as they performed daring maneuvers atop a precarious pago- da of chairs. Their shows also included bodily displays of contortion, flexibility, and control along with trick- cycling, precision tumbling, juggling, somersaulting and gymnastics. Lady Houdini (Kristen Johnson), known as the
world’s premier female escape artist, performed be- fore packed audiences three times a day. She broke Harry Houdini’s record in 2012 for the most water torture cell escapes ever performed, estimated at over 2,000 attempts. She and her husband, Kevin Ridgeway, who emcees the show, were originally scheduled to perform at last year’s fair but were involved in a serious car accident the day before the 2017 fair’s start and had to cancel. Since their recovery, they have built a segment into their show about the dangers of distracted driving. One of last year’s most successful promotions — $2 Fat Tuesdays —
also proved to be popular once again as the fair continued this tradition, calling it $2 Tuesday. On both Tuesdays of the fair, Jan. 16 and 23, guests paid just $2 for admission, rides and food bites. Rosstyn Ice Shows’ Ice Parades Skating Show, master hypnotist Tyzen
and four stages of music and entertainment continued to be main attrac- tions as well as the award-winning agriculture and livestock program fea- turing more than 1,000 exhibitors from over 30 Florida counties. Exotic fried foods, historic Yesteryear Village — now featuring an authentic ca- boose from the 1920s — more than 200 rides, games and attractions, the Starz of the Future competition and the Miss South Florida Fair Scholar- ship Pageant rounded out the fair. As the sun has set on the 2018 edi-
tion of the South Florida Fair, plans are already under way for the 2019 fair, which will be held January 18 – February 3, 2019.
22 FAIRCRACKER-SPRING 2018
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