Let the SC State Fair countdown begin

Admit it.

You’re already thinking about fall.

There are so many reasons to love the season – chief among them, the S.C. State Fair.

This year’s fair in Columbia, the 146th, runs Oct. 14-25.

Though opening day is still more than a month away, there are some things happening now –and there are always things to anticipate, including new foods and new rides.

So check out our list of 10 things to help get your primed for this year’s big event.

Concert tickets

Tickets go on sale Friday for Grandstand entertainment.

Among performers scheduled to play: Country star Thomas Rhett (Oct. 14), pop singer Shawn Mendes (Oct. 16) and multiple Grammy winner Gladys Knight (Oct. 18).

Other Grandstand headliners include Australian Christian pop rock band Newsboys, Christian music band Israel and New Breed (free), country singer-songwriter Cole Swindell and Army ensemble The Volunteers (free).

Show details and tickets: scstatefair.org

Save on fair, ride tickets

Discount gate admission tickets and ride vouchers go on sale Sept. 9 at on the State Fair website and at Walgreens stores.

Advance tickets are $7 ($10 during the fair). Admission is $7 for seniors 55 and older

Free entry is offered this year for retired, active military and dependents (bring ID), along with children ages 5 and under (with paying adult).

Admission is $1 for everyone on opening day, with tickets available only at the gate.

Advance discount ride vouchers are $23 ($28 during the fair).

There’s a deadline to buy discount admission and ride tickets: Oct. 13.

Pay to park

The free ride is over, so to speak, if you are parking in the fairgrounds lot.

This year, parking is $5.

Be sure to bring cash.

Let’s eat!

And now, the all-important announcement about this year’s new fair foods ...

Southern Belle Burger (Carousel Foods): A burger with bacon, pimento cheese salad, and fried green tomato. Find it by the food tent under the SkyGlider.

Bacon Cinnamon Roll (Grandma Brown’s Cinnamon Rolls): Your favorite cinnamon role paired with some salty bacon.

A new roller coaster

There’s a new addition to the Midway – the Blitzer.

The roller coaster, with more than 950 feet of track, includes twists, tight turns and steep drops.

Want to check it out before you consider riding it? Find a video of the Blitzer at gocolumbia.com

Competitive edge

Are you the best baker, canner or candymaker? Put your skills to the test in the S.C. State Fair Home & Craft competition. Registration is being accepted through Sept. 1 (no entry fee for building exhibits before midnight Sept. 1). Special contests this year include a team Pumpkin Decorating contest and the King Arthur Flour Baking Contest.

Other competitive events also have a Sept. 1 deadline, including fine art, student art, agriculture and flowers.

See the fair website for rules and registration: www.scstatefair.org

The land of the dinosaurs

The National Entertainment Group will present “Wild About Dinosaurs,” featuring an animated and life-like baby Tyrannosaurus Rex that will roam the fairgrounds. The dinosaur roars and swishes its tail.

It’s sure to be a hit with the younger set, along with the exhibit, “Fossil Dig.”

Changing of the exhibits

The new Goodman Building, connected to the Cantey building, offers 36,000 square feet of space for exhibits.

And with its addition, there will be some changes in where your favorite exhibits are housed.

All agricultural entries now will be in the Ellison Building.

Fine and student art, photography and flowers now will be displayed in the Cantey Building.

The Goodman Building will include a shopping area.

Look for changes, too, to the north gate entrance to the fairgrounds, including new state-of-the-art ticket booths and security measures.

On the rise

A favorite icon at the fair has risen to new heights.

The Rocket, just inside the fairground’s south gates, was being raised 12 feet this summer and placed on a new base to give it additional visibility. Plans call for a park-like environment around it.

The Rocket, named Columbia, is a medium-range ballistic missile and was given to the city of Columbia in the early 1960s by the U.S. Air Force. In 1969, the disarmed missile was erected at the fairgrounds.

And in case you were wondering...

Along with wondering about new fair foods, we always want to know – will there be a University of South Carolina home football game during the fair?

The answer, this year, is yes.

That game – which happens to be homecoming – falls on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The opponent? Vanderbilt.

This story was originally published August 26, 2015 at 5:11 PM.