The 158th Mississippi State Fair in Jackson started on October 4th and ends on October 15th. Mississippians, as well as visitors from other states, attended the fair yet again to enjoy good food and fun rides and to win as many prizes as possible.

This year, some of the regular rides changed. The Mega Drop, very popular but terrifying, was not brought back tothe fairgrounds like it had been in previous years. However, a  new ride called the Arctic Express was introduced this year. This ride is similar to the ride called the Blizzard, but the carts on the Arctic Express hang off the ground and rock from side to side. So far, it has turned out to be one of the favorite rides.

Of course, most people repeatedly rode old favorites: the Freak Out, The Remix, Gravitron, Crazy Mouse, and the Ferris Wheel. Sophomore Sara Scott Gideon said, “The Fireball is the best ride at the fair every year in my opinion.”

This year’s concert lineup opened up on October 4th with the Brothers Osborne followed by William Michael Morgan on October 5th, Temptations on October 9th, The Oak Ridge Boys on October 10th, Plain White T’s on October 11th, and Brian McKnight on October 12th.

The fair is best known for having the best fried food around, and the fair continues to exceed the previous year’s standards of how good this food really is. Some of this year’s favorites happen to be the steak shishkabob, donut burger, pineapple whip, funnel cake, and, of course, the free biscuits. Junior Lynn Redding said “Pineapple whip was my all time favorite part of the fair.”

The mechanical bull is another hot attraction at the fair. The most commonly known games at the fair consist of dart balloon popping, fish winning games, the water gun games, and basketball, baseball, and football games.

Gallery • 6 Photos

The Yoyo photo courtesy of Maclain Kennedy