By:Travis Farmer
The Pasco County Fair Comes to Dade City
The 70th annual Pasco County Fair came to Dade City the third week of Feb., and just as it does every year, brought a large amount of people from around the area to partake in a night of rides, food, agriculture, and family fun.
The fair is mainly known for the rides and the food, and it exceeded those expectations. There were dozens of food trucks around the fairgrounds, as well as several permanent food pavilions. There also were many rides around the ground, which were easily the most well-known part of the fair for many people. The rides required tickets, but it was more cost efficient to purchase a $25 all access ride pass as tickets costed $1 each, and most rides took upwards of five tickets per person. Some of the rides were a carousal, a Ferris wheel, and bumper cars. However, the fair also includes more thrill inducing rides, such as a roller coaster, a spinning pirate ship, and the Zipper, a ride that’s been to the fair for many years in a row.
While the fair may be known for the rides and food, another large part of the event is the exhibits. In areas, such as the Schrader Building and Higgins Hall, there were many booths and sponsors set up to advertise their companies. All around the fairground were smaller exhibits and events to look at, such as a pig race or the various agricultural events, including the pig and cow auctions, or even the rodeo, which was one of the fairs main events that drew enormous crowds. The fair was also the location of several beauty pageants with titles, such as Miss Heart of Florida and Mister Pasco Prince.
The fair is usually kicked off by a parade through downtown Dade City; however, unfortunately, the 2017 fair the parade was cancelled for the first time in several years. The parade normally takes place on Monday afternoon right before the first day of the fair, on President’s Day. In years past, schools have been closed for President’s Day, however, for the 2017 parade, the city and the fair association could not reach an agreement on the scheduling of the parade and the schools being closed, and as such the parade was simply cancelled. Many long-time locals were not pleased as watching the parade and then walking to the fair was a bit of a small town tradition.
Nevertheless, Senior Education major Emma De Rhodo appreciated the fair.
“I think the fair is great, especially for college students. It gives a theme park type atmosphere only a few miles down the road and for much cheaper, as well as something to look forward to every year,” said De Rhodo.
The fair, while it came with a few problems such as high food prices and crowding, remains one of the gems of Dade City, bringing both a bit of small town charm and livelihood to the area.
