BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Greater Baton Rouge State Fair opened with vendors preparing for 11 days of food, rides, and entertainment.
Mark Rotolo expects to cook 15-20 pots of jambalaya during the fair’s run. He said they prepare all year for this event.
“The hardest part is the prep, you know, getting it all here, once you get it here, it fun after that,” Rotolo said.
The fair features close to 100 food options from 24 different vendors, along with new games, rides, and entertainment. This year, visitors can purchase tickets for helicopter rides.
Fair operations and community impact
Cliff Barton organizes the event year-round and said opening night makes the effort worthwhile.
“You have the sounds of kids having fun on the midway, the laughter, the screams of joy, you got music playing on the entertainment stage where we have bands almost every night. You got people enjoying the different attractions and shows,” Barton said.
The state fair operates as a nonprofit that gives back to the community and sets aside money for the following year’s operations. Barton, who’s been volunteering and organizing this since 1973, said the organization has raised over $5 million since its beginning.
“We take all of our proceeds after all the bills are paid, and we turn them over to the Baton Rouge state fair foundation, who in turn returns them to the community and the surrounding communities in the form of grants, sponsorships, and scholarships,” Barton said.
Almost 100 volunteers help run the fair. Rotolo said the event offers variety for visitors.
“We got boudin balls, alligator balls, jambalaya, you know, we got – there’s fried Oreos, lemonade, it’s just, you know, there’s a little bit of everything, just come try it,” Rotolo said.
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