January, 2016- South Florida Fair
Bad weather on opening day?
The forecast is not looking good for the fair’s opening day, this Fri., Jan. 15, however, anyone who purchases an advance ticket and attends on opening day can still enjoy the indoor exhibits and various shows and may return to the fair for free admittance on another day of the fair by using that same advance ticket.
South Florida Fair sets up AM radio station
This year the fair has set up a low power AM radio station to provide traffic, parking and scheduling information for people coming to the fair. It’s up and running now with a preview message on a continuous loop and it has a broadcast radius of about three miles. The station is 1690 AM. The message will change at least once daily, depending on the need or situation.
Fun Food Facts and Other Interesting South Florida Fair Numbers
2015 Food and Related Items
Paper towels – 1500+ rolls
Napkins – 1.8 million+
Turkey legs – 18,000
Granulated sugar – 20,000 pounds
Funnel cake mix – 2,900 pounds
Corn on the cob – 24,000 ears
French Fries – 25,000+ pounds
Rope Sausage – 3,500 pounds
Shortening for the deep fryers – 24,000+ pounds
Hamburger patties – 5,000+
Chicken tenders – 15,000 pounds
Potatoes – 25,000 pounds
Whole onions – 30,000 pounds
Source: Cheney Brothers
• Buds Chicken & Seafood gave out more than 12,000 free corn fritters in the six days (10 hours/day) they were at the 2015 fair.
Features
• This year’s annual sand sculpture will feature Jupiter to Boca Raton landmarks using 250 tons of sand. For the first time at the South Florida Fair, guests can try sand sculpting at hands-on Sand Clinics. They’ll learn tips, tricks, tools and techniques of professional sand sculpture alongside a world-class professional sand sculptor.
• At this year’s Citizenship Ceremony at the fair, 500 candidates are expected to become citizens.
• Four new rides have been added this year:
1) The Super Cyclone Roller Coaster is a brand new roller coaster from Italy. Its track configuration features two large drops and hairpin turns.
2) The Disko features a rotating platform in which riders sit facing outward. As the platform rotates, it goes back and forth on the half-pipe shaped track.
3) The New York New York Fun House features four stories with guests sliding down a giant four-story spiral slide at the end.
4) The Jungle Twist is a family roller coaster with spinning cars.
Agriculture
• 1.1 million quarter-pound burgers could be made with the beef cattle that will be at this year’s fair.
• 3,187 two-egg omelets could be made from the hens that will be in the fair’s poultry tent over 17 days. A hen can lay one egg a day.
• Each year guests flock to the Moo-ternity tent to watch calves being born. At the 2015 fair, 34 calves were born.
Kids’ Mile
• This is the fifth year for the Kids’ Mile. Each year some 2,000 kids cross the finish line, which adds up to the fair giving out 10,000 medals to kids as of January 16, 2016.
Scholarships
To date, the fair has awarded approximately $493,000 in scholarships and will award another $34,000 this year, bringing the total to more than half a million dollars.
History
• William Howard Taft was the president of the United States in 1912, the first year the South Florida Fair was held. This year marks the fair’s 104th anniversary.