HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) — The grounds are almost ready for the 2023 Kansas State Fair. The event is scheduled to run from Sept. 8-17. Some entertainment and prices will be different this year.
Kansas State Fair Manager Bryan Schulz says there will be a variety of entertainment.
“We have the i-Flip, which is an aerial acrobatic team. We have Robocars. We have Danny Grant and his Cowboy Circus,” explained Schulz.
However, they will not have the well-known pig races hosted by Hedrick’s Promotions.
“We are trying to find Joe a better place that’s right close to where his petting zoo is. And we feel that we’ve got a good place for him next year,” said Schulz.
He says the fair has added a free entertainment stage where the pig races used to be held in the stadium.
“It was disappointing, it was a surprise, but you know, we’re living with it. We’re OK,” said Hedrick’s Promotions president Joe Hedrick, who found out about the removal of the races back in April.
Hedrick explains the fair is doing its best to work through the details of the event and believes there will still be great entertainment. He says Hedrick’s Promotions is still bringing their petting zoo for people of all ages to enjoy.
“I think we have the best group of animals in the petting zoo this year than we’ve had in a long time,” said Hedrick, “People love the kangaroo and the baby zebras, and we’ve got a baby donkey this year.”
Pricing will also be different for ride coupons and discount days at the fairgrounds. The fair will not offer one coupon per ride on Dillon’s Dollar Day. The fair staff says it’s due to people using ride tickets from different dates. Instead, they will offer a $25 wristband for unlimited rides all day.
Some fair attendees are not satisfied with the pricing changes, including Hutchinson resident Nick Hemphill, who enjoys attending with his wife and 10-year-old daughter each year.
“She’s at that age where rides are a really important part of the trip,” said Hemphill.
The dollar discount days were valued by his family because it meant they could afford to ride the rides altogether.
“On the other days, our daughter just rides. Because otherwise, it just adds up really, really fast when you start spending $200, $300, $400 in a couple of days at the fair,” said Hemphill.
His concerns led him to post on Facebook about the various changes happening at the event. Many community members commented, expressing the same issues with the communication from the Fair Board.
“The feedback I received, people are saying that they’re just simply not going to be able to afford to go this year,” said Hemphill.
Hemphill explains that having discount days are important for single-parent households and teachers, who will not receive their first paycheck of the fall semester until Sept. 15, near the end of the fair. He asks for more transparency and discussion from the fair staff in order to apply the feedback received.
Fair manager Bryan Schulz says the general admission prices will remain the same as before.
“Before 11 o’clock on the first Friday, it’s free gate admission, the Chief’s Red Friday, the second Friday, if you are a play-on member for the Kansas lottery, you get in free. We haven’t changed up our pricing for any other of our on-grounds admissions,” said Schulz.
Schulz addressed the removal of free admission after 9 p.m. from years past, saying there were problems with parents dropping off their underage children.
“We were running into some issues with kids getting out of hand a little bit, and our highway patrol was having to handle that. So after 9 o’clock, it’s $5,” he said.
The fair will offer two days, where admission is $4 after 4 p.m.
“From the Grand Stand entertainment to our free stage, plus all of our livestock … I mean, it’s going to be a great 10 days here in Kansas at the Kansas State Fair,” said Schulz.
