The South Florida Fair plans for its continuation of the annual event to take place Jan. 15-31, 2021– this year, it’s an Earthly Affair.
Located at 9067 Southern Blvd., the South Florida fairgrounds and the Expo Center, this will be the fair’s 109th anniversary; the staff and CEO, Vicki Chouris made sure that the show will still go on, especially following the CDC guidelines.
Fairgoers and natives of south Florida look forward to this fair as a fun interactive way to spend time with their family and friends.
“It’s Palm Beach’s largest event, it’s been around since 1912,” Chouris said. “Kids have come with their parents for a hundred years to enjoy the fair. So, we know that it’s family tradition for so many.”
What many would think of Tuesday’s strictly for tacos, the South Florida Fair is known for their “$2 Tuesday,” but this year they will cease to carry out this tradition as, in the past, it has attracted a large number of guests. The fair staff wants to make sure that guests are enjoying themselves while also taking the necessary safety precautions.
Chouris and staff have designed a set of guidelines that aim to maintain a healthy experience for the guests; there will be sanitation stations throughout the grounds.
“They [sanitation stations] already are in place in the buildings, they’ll be in place near the food stands. Once the food stands get set up, we’ll put the portable hand sanitizer,” Chouris said.
Not only will there be hand sanitizer accessible to the public, but there are other means of making sure that people have the chance to stay clean and germ free during their visit.
“We actually have soap and water sanitizers as well, in our agricultural area where the animals are,” Chouris said.
Masks are required at all times by everyone within the park, hand sanitizer stations will be spread out, the shows will be shorter and more frequent, the air conditioning will be improved in the Expo Center, touch-less doors, and a renovated site layout which will accommodate the social distancing between rides and visitors.
“We just want people to be smart and we want people to be safe. The experience of riding a ride isn’t going to be any different with a mask or without a mask,” Chouris said. “So we are saying wear your mask.”
The highlights of this year fair will include the sea lion show, the infamous racing pigs and ice skating show, and other fun shows to be announced as the fair approaches.
The prices for this year’s tickets will be a little different. Monday through Friday tickets will be on sale for $10 at the gate and Saturday and Sunday they will be $15, which is $5 less than last year’s weekend price.
“It’s a one day ticket, ages 10 and under are free. If you buy it in advance it’s $10 and you can even use it on the weekends,” Chouris said. “But at the gate you’re going to pay $10 during the week and $15 on the weekends.”
Advanced ticket purchasing is encouraged as it provides a way of less contact between guests and the fair staff during admission and prohibits standing in line to purchase a ticket– seeing as social distancing within six feet is still required.
To purchase your tickets in advance, the beginning date for visitors to do so would be Dec. 2020, through Jan. 14, 2021. See the fair’s website to purchase and/or learn more about your advanced tickets www.southfloridafair.com.
If you’re unfamiliar with Gold Pass promotion will allow fairgoers to move up to the front of the line at a special checkerboard lane.
The Power Pass will be making an assured return and will be $25 which will allow unlimited rides for any one weekday which can be purchased up until Jan. 14, 2021 online.
If you would like to find out more on the safety and health protocol for this year’s fair, visit www.southfloridafair.com.