COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina State Fair wrapped up its 154th year Sunday, and clean-up mode activated almost immediately. Within 24 hours, almost everything had been dismantled.
“Inside all the buildings when that 8 o’clock hour hit immediately the tear down starts in there,” says State Fair General Manager Nancy Smith.
She says as soon as the gates closed, over 100 dedicated workers inside the buildings immediately began the meticulous process of breaking down the exhibits.
Once the fairgrounds were emptied of visitors, Blake Houston from North American Midways and his team swung into action, disassembling the rides. “We started at 10 o’clock last night as soon as we closed and the majority of it was finished up this morning, it takes longer to set them up than to break down," Houston said.
By 11 a.m., only the skeletal frames of the Crazy Mouse ride and the last chairs of the Sky Ride hung in the air.
“The roller coasters obviously, the bigger the equipment the harder it is, our double-decker carousel takes a while, it takes a crane,” Houston adds.
Brett Wilson with Leaning Tower of Pizza was one of the final food trucks left, he says the clean-up process is one he starts early and doesn’t take long.
“Pretty much a couple hours before closing, you start tidying up everything, putting everything away, taking stuff to the stock truck or wherever to get it out of the way. We have a couple hours, I got to clean out wastewater, take down the fence, take down the skirt,” Wilson adds.
As the nostalgic scent of funnel cakes fades into the distance, final attendance figures are being tallied. Smith acknowledges that while the fair performed well, rainy weather kept some fairgoers at home, “Our numbers are good, down a little bit, we have control over many things, the weather is one we do not,”.
The 24-hour gate will remain open as the final pieces are removed, but Smith expects almost everything will be gone by the evening.
If you are already counting down the South Carolina State Fairs returns in 2024 from October 9th until the 20th.