LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's getting hot for the second week of Kentucky State Fair
With thousands of visitors coming every day to Kentucky State Fair on site, paramedics have a lot of people to look after. With the excessive heat warnings, there are some added safety features to help people cool down.
Let’s start at the animal barns, where move-in times were moved up several hours on Monday.
Inside the West Wing, Colton Coffmann is delivering three show pigs ahead of a busy week of competition. “Every year you get a pig with a new personality,” Coffmann told Spectrum News 1.
But there is something all swine have in common and it’s a trait that matters even more on hot days.
“They don’t sweat, and you really got to keep them cool,” Coffmann explained. That’s accomplished by extra fans, AC and unlimited access to the shower pen.
“I don’t know if I said this earlier, but we were heading this way at 3 o‘clock this morning just to beat the heat,” he said.
“So we work with the Department of Ag, our team on site and working with our exhibitors who are bringing in those livestock to bring them in early and what that does is ensure the safety of the animals, ensures the safety of our customers, our fair-goers,” Ian Cox told Spectrum News 1. Cox is the Kentucky State Fair spokesperson and says there are added cooling shelters and water-fill up stations and visitors are more than welcome to carrying in their own refillable bottles.
“Bring it inside and fill it up at one of the water stations,” Cox said.
By early afternoon, Monday temperatures were already knocking on the door of 90 degrees, but it felt even hotter. Perhaps the hottest area of the entire fair is standing over a 450 degree charcoal grill and, for anyone doing tha, staying cool is an uphill battle.
“It’s a lost cause. Drink as much water as you can,” one grill master told Spectrum News 1.
Visitors will notice water stations setup at shuttle pick-up areas in the parking lots. With this excessive heat expected to last through most of the week, those added water stations and cooling stations will be here all week.