BATON ROUGE– It was announced this summer that the Greater Baton Rouge State Fair will return to BR in 2023 after moving to Gonzales in 2022.
The fair will be held at the BREC Fairgrounds on Airline Highway from Oct. 26 through Nov. 5.
Fair officials said the 2022 event moved to Gonzales because of construction at the BREC fairgrounds.
“We are excited to be back in Baton Rouge,” said Cliff Barton, the fair’s president. “We didn’t want to leave, but BREC had told us they would do some development on the property. We’re excited to be back home.”
Barton said one new attraction the public can look forward to is Dallas the Fire Guy. Dallas is a fire eater and fire thrower who will put on a show at the fair. Popular attractions such as the swifty swine pig races are returning.
Barton explained the transition back to Baton Rouge has been easier than last year’s haul to Gonzales.
“We thought moving to Gonzales was a great idea at the time,” he said. “We had to change everything up. We had to let all of our people know we were making the move. We had to become involved with the local community, meet with officials, and set things up. It was a difficult thing to make the move.”
The fair is an all-volunteer event. All of the proceeds are donated to the Baton Rouge State Fair Foundation. Barton said the proceeds are donated to the community through grants, scholarships, and sponsorships. The fair received its first donation in 1987, according to Barton.
“We have now passed the $4.6 million mark in total giving,” Barton said. “We’re looking forward to seeing the people we see yearly. We have people who come to the fair that tell us they came to the fair back when they were children, and now they are bringing their children and grandchildren to the fair. We enjoy the city and those people, just catching up with them and having a good time.”
For more information, visit the fair’s website.
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