The 153rd South Carolina State Fair returns Oct. 12-23 in Columbia, with a full lineup of traditional favorites and a variety of new rides, foods, entertainment, as well as a traveling moon exhibition and the return of the CIRCUS at the Fair.

Food and Beverages

With more than 90 food stands, guests will find everything — from innovative indulgences (fried cookie dough and donut burgers), to S.C. State Fair staples (Fiske fries and foot-long corn dogs), to lighter fare (the ultimate Greek salad).

Guests can enjoy a variety of new food options this year, including Steak Poutine Sundae, cookies and cream topped funnel cakes and elephant ears, fried Moon Pies and watermelon ice tea.

Warm cookies and milk await guests in the expanded cookie kitchen, located in the Rosewoods Salon. Check out the new Food Concessions Map at SCStateFair.org/foodmap.

Rides and Fun

With 60 rides, this year’s S.C. State Fair offers sky-high and family-friendly fun rides, including the following new rides:  

Flying Jumbos: This ride sends kids spinning high in the air. 

The Money Maze: This monkey-themed, kid-friendly maze is packed with fun and surprise.

Giant Vertigo: Get an aerial view as the Giant Vertigo takes riders on a high-swing ride.

Sky Screamer: If you like a thrill, have a seat.  

The S.C. State Fair will feature Pay-One-Price (POP) ride days every day. Patrons can enjoy unlimited rides by exchanging a ride voucher for a POP wristband at specially marked ticket booths.

Entertainment 

The following entertainment highlights will take place at this year’s S.C. State Fair. Go to SCStateFair.org for a full list of entertainment.

CIRCUS at the Fair: The free, daily CIRCUS at the Fair is returning for a third year and will feature a new tent, fresh new acts and a never-before-seen show.

The CIRCUS, located beside the Ellison building near the South Gate Entrance, will perform three 40 minute-long shows each day.  Shows begin at 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Daily admission to the CIRCUS is free with your fair admission ticket.

Led by Ringmaster Ian Garden, the CIRCUS acts will include performances from: 

Renaldo (clown)

American Cyclones (motorcycle and trapeze)

Zeman Duo (roller skating)

Disharmony (trapeze)

Anna Dangerous (whips and arrows)

Yulia and her Flying Pole (aerial pole)

Gravity Arts X Wall (LED trampoline acrobatics).

Traveling Moon Exhibit: Museum of the Moon, an international traveling exhibition sponsored by South Carolina ETV, will be on display in the Cantey building.  

Music: The following bands will perform each night at 7 p.m. on the Pepsi Place Stage: 

Villa*Nova, Oct. 12

Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Oct. 13

FreeBird — Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute, Oct. 14

Jason Sikes — Tribute to Elvis, Oct. 15

Orquesta Macuba, Oct. 16

Ranky Tanky, Oct. 17

Sugarcane Jane, Oct. 18

Ervin McKoy — Da Soul Man, Oct. 19

Jess Kellie Adams, Oct. 20

The Tams, Oct. 21

Danny Dawson Band, Oct. 22

Joshua Rogers, Oct. 23 (starts at 4 p.m.).

Heritage Village: Fair visitors can experience the wonders of yesteryear in the Heritage Village where a multi-dimensional display of entertainment, crafts, bowl turning and pottery from years gone by will be on display. 

Roving Shows and Academic Avenue Stage: The S.C. State Fair will feature a mix of roving and stage shows, including various musical shows, dance groups, animal acts, magicians, jugglers, stunt artists and other entertainers.

In addition to many returning favorites, the following performers will be new to this year’s fair. The Academic Avenue Stage is sponsored by Prisma Health. 

The Circus Man — Jason D’Vaude

Safari Sam and Oscar the Awesome Ostrich

Marc Dobson — One-Man Band

Bantu Wizards — African Acrobats

Rockland Road — A Nashville family band

Dennis Lee — The band and “Denny the Clown”

Columbia’s Praise Sunday with 95.7

Sneak Peek of Columbia City Ballet’s Dracula: Ballet with A Bite.

Art and Flower Exhibits 

The beauty of art and flowers will return to this year’s flower show. The flower arrangements will be dispersed among a wide range of artworks throughout the Cantey building.

In addition to Potted Plant and Cut Horticulture competitions, several flower shows will be held in the Cantey building at the S.C. State Fair, including the Ikebana International Chapter #182, the Garden Club Council of Greater Columbia, Mid-Carolina Camellia Society and the South Carolina Rose Society. 

Patrons can stroll through the Fine Art Department in the Cantey building as they view the works of some of the state’s best amateur, professional and student artists.

Featured categories include ceramics, pottery, aqua painting, oil painting, drawing, mixed media, prints, photography, digital photography, open media and sculpture. 

Your Fair Your Army (New!)

New this year is a special “Your Fair Your Army” exhibit, an opportunity for fairgoers to enjoy “your fair” as well as meet and interact with “your army.”

The United States Army, South Carolina Army National Guard and the United States Army Cadet Command will provide a showcase of equipment and soldiers of different military occupational specialties. Soldiers and military representatives will be onsite to answer questions and provide an overview of what they do and the equipment on display. 

“Your Fair Your Army” is free with fair admission and can be found in the following three locations: the gaming trailer located at the North end of the fairgrounds by the Rocket, inside the Ruff building, and near the South Gate next to the Moore building.

Go to SCStateFair.org for more information.

Agriculture and Livestock 

The S.C. State Fair is rooted in agriculture. South Carolina residents will compete for bragging rights and a blue ribbon with their home-grown produce, including apples, home garden wagons, large pumpkins and watermelons, Christmas trees, a shoe garden, sugar cane, sweet potatoes and more.

Visit with the South Carolina Beekeepers, Clemson Extension and 4H, and stop by the produce stand to purchase South Carolina-grown produce. 

Visit with live farm animals, including swine, sheep, rabbits, horses and more. Watch a donkey and mule show, experience swine races and get up close and meet members of the Commerford Petting Zoo, a family owned and operated petting zoo featuring domestic animals and hand-raised exotic animals. 

Daily Promotions

The S.C. State Fair offers the following daily promotions:

Children: All children 5 and under will be admitted FREE every day.

Seniors: $15 admission every day.

Pay-One-Price (POP) Ride Days: The S.C. State Fair will once again feature Pay-One-Price (POP) ride days every day. Patrons can enjoy unlimited rides by exchanging a ride voucher for a POP wristband at specially marked ticket booths.

Lunch Bunch: Pop in and out of the S.C. State Fair for lunch with a special lunch bunch ticket, available from noon-2 p.m. each weekday (except Wednesday, Oct. 12). Pay your entry fee and receive a refundable $20 ticket. Return to the ticket booth with the ticket by 2 p.m. to get your money back.

Special Promotional Days

Oct. 12 — $5 admission at the gate 

Oct. 13, 17 and 20 – Military Appreciation Days

Oct. 13 – Sensory-Friendly Morning

Oct. 13 – South Carolina Farm Bureau Day

Oct. 14 – Diabetes Awareness Day

Oct. 15 – 4-H Day

Oct. 17 – College Day

Oct. 18 – Future Farmers of America Day

Oct. 18 and 19 – SCETV Days

Oct. 20 – Exceptional Citizens Day

Sensory-Friendly Morning (New!)

The lights and sounds of the S.C. State Fair will be a little lower from 10 a.m.-noon on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, when the S.C. State Fair hosts its first-ever Sensory-Friendly Morning. During Sensory-Friendly Morning, the S.C. State Fair will create an environment designed with children and adults with autism or sensory processing disorders in mind. The goal for the morning is to enable families who have a member, whether child or adult, with special needs to visit, explore and enjoy the fair. Download the S.C. State Fair storyboard to learn about the S.C. State Fair experience before you go.

For a complete list of promotional days and their details: https://www.scstatefair.org/plan-your-visit/promotions/

Discount Tickets

Discount admission tickets are $10 per person ($15-$20 during the fair) and discount ride vouchers are $30 per person ($35-$38 during the fair). Visit SCStateFair.org or a participating Circle K location to purchase discount tickets now through Tuesday, Oct. 11. 

Health and Safety

Go to SCStateFair.org to learn more about the fair’s clear bag policy, youth policy, safety guidelines, and the latest Covid-19 precautions and policies.

The South Carolina State Fair, a self-supporting 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, was organized in 1869 and is dedicated to preserving and promoting South Carolina’s agricultural roots while supporting statewide education.

In addition to the 12-day South Carolina State Fair, the charitable organization manages annual football parking, is a popular event venue and hosts Carolina Lights — Columbia's downtown drive-through light show. The South Carolina State Fair has awarded more than $4 million in scholarships since 1997.

Creature Comforts Brewing Co., an Athens, Ga.-based B-Corp certified craft brewery, announced plans to expand distribution to Greenville, S.C., on Oct. 18.

Following expansion into the coastal South Carolina, Nashville, Columbia, and Chattanooga markets over the last year, the addition of Greenville is the Athens brewery’s fifth expansion outside Georgia.

Company officials said the brewery will begin pouring four popular beers from Creature Comforts’ core year-round lineup on draft in select locations across Greenville, including Athena, a tart German-style wheat beer; Automatic, a Pale Ale; Bibo, a crisp and dry Pilsner; and Tropicália, an IPA.

“With our recent expansion to Columbia, SC and previously into Charleston and Hilton Head, Greenville was a natural next step for us,” said Creature Comforts CEO Chris Herron. 

“It’s a flourishing city with creativity at its heart, and we’re looking forward to being a part of that growth this fall.”

Creature Comforts has selected Greenco Distributing, a subsidiary of Reyes Beer Division, as its distributor partner in Greenville. Greenco operates across markets throughout northwest South Carolina.

The market expansion comes just after Creature Comforts’ eighth anniversary, and ahead of its plans to open a second brewery and taproom in Los Angeles in the coming months.

Situated within a former tire shop-turned brewery and taproom in downtown Athens, Creature Comforts’ Snow Tire Taproom showcases old school memorabilia and signage from the building’s early days.

M. B. Kahn Construction Co., Inc., a general contractor headquartered in Columbia, S.C., said it has finalized an acquisition agreement with McKenzie Construction Corporation located in Virginia Beach, Va.

The transition will be effective Nov. 1, 2022. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Company officials said a permanent office location in Virginia will allow the company to best serve clients in the region and propel M. B. Kahn’s expansion efforts.

“McKenzie’s company values, quality, vision, longevity, and safety standards make for the perfect alliance with M. B. Kahn,” said Bob Chisholm, president of M. B. Kahn.

“This acquisition allows us to expand upon both McKenzie’s success and our own success in Southeastern Virginia and Eastern North Carolina.”

M. B. Kahn provides a variety of construction services in all market sectors. In operation since 1927, the company has been recognized as one of the Southeast’s leading construction firms and is consistently ranked as one of Engineering News-Record’s Top General Contractors.

Code.org, the Computer Science Teachers Association, and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance released the 2022 State of Computer Science Education: Understanding our National Imperative.

Published annually, the report provides the most comprehensive analysis of national progress in computer science education, featuring national and state-level policy and implementation data.

“In South Carolina, we’ve made great strides in advancing computer science in our schools and classrooms,” said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman.

“This year, we’re celebrating another year of top national ranking, with 93 percent of high schools offering computer science. We want to thank the teachers, students, school districts, parents, computer science advocates and lawmakers who helped make this happen. South Carolina is proud to support computer science education and prepare students for future careers.”

South Carolina has adopted seven of the nine policies recommended by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition. The policies support computer science education in schools, and states that have adopted more of the nine policies have a greater percentage of high schools teaching computer science.

South Carolina also leads the nation in the number of girls enrolled in computer science, with females representing 46.9 percent. In fact, officials said more girls are taking computer science courses in South Carolina K-12 schools than in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana combined.

The 2022 State of Computer Science Education report was released during this year’s CSEdCon, a national computer science education summit.

Spearman received an award during the September event in recognition of South Carolina’s work to promote and advance computer science education.