The Oklahoma State Fair returns for 2023 with rides, shows and more
Offering familiar favorites and new attractions, the 2023 Oklahoma State Fair continues through Sept. 24 at the OKC Fairgrounds.
Brandy McDonnell, Oklahoman
Along with the growling of animatronic dinosaurs and the rumbling of the Porkey’s Express Pig Train, the chirping and chattering of dozens of parakeets added to the cheerful commotion inside the Bennett Event Center on Thursday, the opening day of the Oklahoma State Fair.
Within Pretty Bird Paradise, more than 100 young parakeets swooped onto perches, cleaned their feathers and sometimes squawked with excitement, especially when greeting visitors who came in bearing feeding sticks tipped with birdseed.
An interactive aviary where fairgoers can enter and interact with the diminutive parrots, Pretty Bird Paradise is making its Oklahoma State Fair debut this year, delighting many attendees — particularly children eager to get up close with the colorful birds also known as budgies — and thrilling the traveling attraction’s owner.
“I’m a native Texan … but I went to school in Hugo, Oklahoma, where I grew up. I also lived in Shawnee for a while,” said Pretty Bird Paradise owner Beckie Meress.
“I’m so happy to be here. So many memories.”
One of the state’s largest yearly events, the Oklahoma State Fair made its anticipated return Thursday at the OKC Fairgrounds, where it’s running through Sept. 22.
Along with familiar favorites like the carnival rides, “Disney on Ice” show and rows of tantalizing food vendors, a veritable flock of new attractions, events and performances have been added to this year’s fair.
“I call party foul on people that say it’s the same fair year after year. It really isn’t. … We have a lot of new attractions; we have a lot of new food,” fair spokesman J. Scott Munz told The Oklahoman.
What are some of the new attractions at the 2024 Oklahoma State Fair?
As the Oklahoma State Fair got underway on Thursday morning, adults and children ventured into an inflatable version of a corn maze, a new addition to the long-running AGtropolis agricultural exhibition.
Outside Oklahoma Expo Hall, the perennially popular Great American Petting Farm had a new companion attraction in the Great American Living Carousel, where, for a fee, youngsters could ride one of the docile purebred Welsh ponies under a revolving tent top.
Under the tents inside the Oklahoma Frontier Experience, Jenni Kelly, a frontier candle maker from Tennessee, helped a girl slowly dip two ends of a strand of wax-coated twisted linen thread into a cauldron of melted beeswax.
“Did you see it grow? So, that’s a baby candle. Now you’re going to make it a teenager. So, we do it again. It has to cool off enough each time in between, so that you don’t melt off the wax,” Kelly explained.
“In the pioneer times, they would have used beeswax for special occasions, because it was so expensive to get. The only time they had it is if they found a bee’s nest somewhere. So, other than that, they’d use bear fat and lard and cow tallow.”
Another newcomer to the Oklahoma State Fair, Kelly arrived in the Sooner State after her recent runs in her home state at the Tennessee Valley Fair and Tennessee State Fair. She was recommended for the OKC event by husband-and-wife artisans Cindie and Bob Etienne, who demonstrate old-fashioned hat-making and rope-making, respectively, for fairgoers.
“This is my first year here. I hope it won’t be my last,” Kelly said. “With fairs … you spend (about) 10 days in one place, set it up and just talk to people. You get to meet, honestly, really good people, usually. I always come away with some special story.”
Formerly a casualty claims litigator and investigator for Norfolk Southern Railway, Kelly changed course at age 50. For the past 18 years, she has been pursuing her second career as a frontier candle maker and potter.
“It’s all the other side of the brain,” Kelly said with a smile. “That was a lot more stress.”
How did a Sooner-bred goldsmith become proprietor of Pretty Bird Paradise?
A former goldsmith, Meress, the proprietor of Pretty Bird Paradise, was 65 when she launched her bird rescue and aviary.
“I didn’t just want to retire and grow old. I wanted something to do, and this fell into place. … It’s my hobby that got out of hand,” she said with a smile.
“I love birds, I’ve always been around birds, and I live in Florida now. … So many people were turning these birds loose when they didn’t want them anymore, and the predator birds would eat them within 30 minutes, because they’re so colorful, they’re easy to spot. So, I just put it on my Facebook page, ‘I will take in unwanted birds.'”
People and shelters started bringing her birds, and she quickly gathered a large flock. She started her traveling aviary to offset expenses and share her love for her feathered friends.
“All of these are rescue birds. What you see in here are all babies, and they’re just learning how to interact. … Parakeets are extremely social; they love people,” said Meress, who finished up her stint at the Maryland State Fair in Baltimore Sunday and drove more than 1,400 miles from Baltimore to OKC for the Oklahoma State Fair.
The Sooner-bred bird lover travels to fairs 12 weeks a year and spends the rest of her time in Florida, where she tends several species of fowl friends in her large permanent aviary.
Entry to her Pretty Bird Paradise is free with Oklahoma State Fair admission. Feed sticks are $4 each or three for $10.
“Watching the children keeps me happy. Another thing that’s fun is when the dads come in with their child and pretty soon forget they have a child with them,” Meress said with a laugh. “I’ve had kids come up to me and say, ‘Could I get another feed stick? My dad took mine.'”
2024 Oklahoma State Fair new events and attractionsPretty Bird Paradise: Daily, Bennett Event Center — The free interactive aviary houses more than100 parakeets, mostly rescue birds.Great American Living Carousel: Daily, Oklahoma Expo Hall Lawn — For a fee, little cowpokes can ride purebred Welsh ponies under a revolving tent top.Inflatable Corn Maze: Daily, Oklahoma Expo Lawn — Fairgoers can learn about corn in the 40-foot-by-40-foot experience.Wick & Whimsy Frontier Candle Maker: Daily, Oklahoma Frontier Experience. Tennessee artisan Jenni Kelly joins a lineup of fellow craftsman demonstrating the ways of the West.Tumbleweed Crossing: 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily, Oklahoma Frontier Experience. The Wild West gunfight show crosses stunts and comedy.Stinkin’ Sentra by Dent Source: Starting Sept. 12, Centennial Lawn. Four contestants compete to win a new Nissan Sentra by living in it for the duration of the fair. The last one to exit the increasingly aromatic car gets to take it home.Crackin’ Corn Comedy Show: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. daily, The Circle and Oklahoma Frontier Experience. Cornball Clodhopper cranks up his Crop-Quenching Contraption to conjure up a Crowd Coolin’ Cloudburst.Pirate Man Dan: 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. daily, Plaza Stage. Audience participation is encouraged as the entertainer performs thrilling escapes, unicycle stunts, knife and fire juggling, balloon tricks and more, all choreographed to a nautical theme and story.Pirate Adventure Experience: 6:30 p.m. daily, plus an added shows at 12:30 p.m. Saturdays, Plaza Stage. Pirate Man Dan sets sail aboard his ship around The Circle and down Wichita Walk.Stargazing in the Planetarium: 10:30 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Arts Annex — Attendees can experience the night sky and learn about constellations, planets and more.PRCA Stunt Rider Sophie Duch: Twice daily, Oklahoma Frontier Experience. The rodeo entertainer will perform Roman riding and an Annie Oakley-style mounted shooting reenactment during the Wild West Showcase.Flyin’ Fiddler Wayne Cantwell: Daily, Oklahoma Frontier Experience. The state fair welcomes back OKC musician, who returns with his instruments thrown in a gunny sack to play old-time clawhammer-style banjo and fiddle.OK!toberfest: Sept. 12-14 and 19-20, Fest Tent, between Jim Norick Arena and Bennett Event Center. Featuring German beer, wine and live music, the festivities will toast and revive the long-running Choctaw Oktoberfest tradition that was lost when Old Germany Restaurant shuttered in 2018. This year’s state fair showcase will preview a larger comeback for the event in 2025 on the OKC Fairgrounds.Urban Homesteading Expo: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 15, Modern Living Building. Even attendees with little to no acreage can learn about growing their own food, raising chickens and feeling more self-reliance.Bison Encounter: Sept. 19-22, Barn 3. The Oklahoma Bison Association’s event will give fairgoers the opportunity to have a close encounter — but in a good way — with the state mammal.Wine and Palette: 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sept. 19, Modern Living Building. The state fair is offering two classes with different painting choices where attendees can uncork their talent and receive step-by-step guidance in creating a work of art. Canvases, paint and aprons will be provided. A limited number of walk-in participants will be accepted.The 2024 Oklahoma State Fair at a glanceWhen: Through Sept. 22 Where: OKC Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd. Admission: Regular outside gate admission is $16 for adults and children 12 and older; $10 for children 6 to 11; and free for children 5 and younger. To buy tickets, go to the ticket booths outside each gate, call 405-948-6800 or go to
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Publish date : 2024-09-12 23:44:00
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