COLUMBUS, Ohio — State Fair leadership has worked alongside the Ohio State Highway Patrol to implement safety procedures as the fair gears up for its July 24 kick-off day.

This year, some of the procedures include having visitors screened through metal detectors upon entry and bag searches. Purses, backpacks, book bags, coolers and strollers are permitted but all are subject to search.

What You Need To Know

  • After 6 p.m., per the new unaccompanied minor protocol, an adult chaperone, such as a relative or parent  will need accompany minors entering the fair

  • For visitors entering the WCOL Celeste Center for concerts there will be an additional weapons detection screening

  • Smoking marijuana is prohibited at the fair, and smoking cigarettes will be confined to outdoor designated areas
  • According to the fair, prohibited items must be disposed of, returned to a vehicle or forfeited to the OSHP

“Safety and security are a top priority of the Ohio Expo Center & State Fairgrounds. As such, we regularly review our protocols to align with industry best practices and recommend adjustments based on data and trends,” explained Executive Director Adam Heffron. “One industry best practice that has emerged in recent years at amusement parks, fairs, festivals, and shopping malls, is instituting a chaperone requirement after a certain time. Instituting these rules has improved safety at a number of other venues, and as such, we will be requiring minors to be accompanied at the admission gates after 6 p.m.”

After 6 p.m., per the new unaccompanied minor protocol, an adult chaperone, such as a relative or parent, will need to accompany minors entering the fair.

For visitors entering the WCOL Celeste Center for concerts, there will be an additional weapons detection screening. These visitors are also subject to additional screening and bag searches before entering.

Smoking marijuana is prohibited at the fair, and smoking cigarettes will be confined to outdoor designated areas.

According to the fair, prohibited items must be disposed of, returned to a vehicle or forfeited to the OSHP.

These items include: 

  • Weapons such as knives, chains, bats and sticks
  • Illegal substances
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Bicycles, Segways, hoverboards, skateboards, roller blades, roller skates, mopeds, motorcycles and other two-wheel vehicles
  • Drones (unmanned aircraft systems)
  • Laser pointers
  • Selfie sticks
  • Glass bottles and containers

Fairgoers carrying a firearm, concealed or open, may only enter the outdoor portions of the fair. If a patron wishes to enter a building, they will have the option of returning the firearm to their vehicle and returning to the fair with a handstamp. Buildings have been marked prohibiting firearms.

Rides have been inspected by a third-party ride inspector working alongside the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Ride Safety Division and Talley Amusements, the ride provider, for a "layered ride inspection process" conducted by the department and daily inspections by the ride foreman and independent ride inspector.

The fair runs from July 24 through Aug. 4.

For more information on the Ohio State Fair, click here.