He can balance a burning barbecue grill, blow fire and give you a good laugh.
His sidekick can escape almost any scenario.
It’s the Dallas and Nick Show, a first-time must-see at the Greater Baton Rouge State Fair. You’ll find them along the walkway leading to the food court. C’mon, you know you’re going to want to munch down on some jambalaya, hot cracklins and a funnel cake, and wash it all down with a fresh-squeezed lemonade. It’s all part of being at the state fair.
Can you bake a pie, carve a pumpkin or consume multiple hot dogs in a short amount of time? There’s a new contest for that.
“Well, there’s always something new. I go out of my way to make sure I have at least one new thing every year,” says Fair President Cliff Barton.
Everything mentioned so far is a 2023 addition to the long-running fall celebration; Barton is not.
“I worked my first one in 1973. I’ve been with ’em 51 years. And that’s as a volunteer,” says Barton, who’s watched the fair go from the old Cortana Mall parking lot, to the BREC Airline Highway Park/Fairgrounds, to the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center and back to Airline Highway Park again.
Barton calls the new contests community involvement special events. The pie baking competition is on the fair’s final day, Sunday, Nov. 5. Witness or battle in the hot-dog eating contest on Saturday, Nov. 4. The adult pumpkin carving contest and a children’s pumpkin decorating contest will take place Sunday, Oct. 29.
Returning for its sixth year is the Lego® Extravaganza, on Saturday, Oct. 28.
“It’s neat. Children between the ages of 7 and 13 are put at a table, generally two to a table with one at each end,” explains Barton. “They’re given a pile of Legos® and they have to use what they are given. They cannot swap with anybody. They can’t trade for any other parts. They have 45 minutes to build something. And you would be amazed at what these children can do. They come up with some great, great things.”
“I mean, they’ll build airplanes and buildings and vehicles and the neat thing is they don’t know what they’re getting. So they may have it in their mind they’re gonna build a vehicle of some sort, and they’ve only got three wheels, and one of them is bigger than the other two. But they have to use that. And they are so creative. They do it, they get it all done.”
The fair’s first Lego® competition drew six or seven children; last year, young builders had to be turned away.
“We didn’t have enough Legos® for them,” Barton says. “So, I’ve invested in more Legos® and we can accommodate more children. And we’re about halfway to our maximum number right now with our registered kids.”
Speaking of numbers, the fair’s relocation to Gonzales for 2022 due to planned work on the Baton Rouge fairgrounds property led to a drop in attendance, Barton says, but still attracted around 40,000 people.
“Our normal attendance runs between 50,000 and 80,000, paid,” he says. “And then we do not charge for children under 48 inches tall. So, two years ago we had attendance of over 100,000 when you count the kids.”
And what drives people to continue to make the fair one of their fall go-tos?
“Number one, we are a family-oriented event, and we try to keep the cost down as much as we can so that a family can come to the fair,” Barton says. “Our parking is free, our admission is $10 for adults, children under 48 inches get in for free. So it’s very affordable.
“And you don’t have to purchase anything else. You can go to the fair, you can see all of the shows that we have, and you don’t have to spend any more money,” he says.
Meanwhile, the midway rides remain a big draw for teens and young adults.
“You can purchase a wristband for $30 and you can ride all day,” Barton explains. “Or if you’re only going to ride one or two rides, you can purchase (individual) ride tickets and those are a dollar a piece. Most rides take five tickets. So you can see if you’re gonna ride any number of rides, a wristband is a much better deal.”
There’s also the live music, strolling entertainment, livestock exhibits, and who could resist racing pigs?
“It’s fair weather. It’s not too hot. And the nights are cool and crisp and, you know, that brings people out,” Barton says. “We have a little bit of something for everything.”
The GBR State Fair Foundation has donated more than $4.3 million to the community in the form of grants, scholarships and sponsorships.
