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PAUL:

The ribbon is cut, the rides are spinning, and the smell of funnel cakes fills the air. The Mississippi State Fair is back and it's bigger than ever. Hey, it's Paul Wolf with a front row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places, and events that make the city with soul shine. On today's show, we're heading to the Mississippi State Fair to talk with Fairgrounds Deputy Director Justin Nipper about this year's celebration. The ribbon was just cut on another year of the fair and this time around it's a celebration of America. The America 250 movement is bringing elevated energy to everything from the attractions to the decorations. Justin will walk us through new additions including a first ever parade, the International X Riders Cup Freestyle motocross competition, special concerts with fireworks, and of course those free buttermilk biscuits on the midway.

Justin, I can't believe that Mississippi State Fair is already here for another year. The ribbon was cut yesterday and the fair is underway. How are you feeling about this year's iteration of the Mississippi state fair?

JUSTIN:

Paul, I am excited.

With the state fairs being the patriotic epicenter for the America 250 movement that has energized all of our fairgrounds, all of the vendors, all of the attractions, the decorating. mean, every, everything about it has gone up another level and we see it and feel it here.

PAUL:

Yeah. Dubbing it the great American fair with lots of special emphasis on patriotic celebrations.

JUSTIN:

That's right. Yeah. We're doing.

I mean, a long list of new things this year, in addition to all the America 250 on their last day of the fair, we'll have Lee Greenwood doing a special performance with a fireworks show to end the whole fair. So this is the first time we've done something like that, where we finished the fair with a big celebration with that on the 13th Columbus day.

PAUL:

I have to imagine that so many of us have been to the state fair for multiple years in a row or on multiple occasions throughout our life. And we think about the carnival rides and we think about the food and the games, but the fair offers so much more than just those three things, right?

JUSTIN:

Yes, definitely. You know, the one of the biggest aspects of the state fair is the livestock shows. And so all throughout the fair, there are people who have decorated their stalls and there are competitions and different contests, even within our livestock barns and guests, you people that come to attend the fair can walk through those barns and look at these animals and see these families that are showcasing their best performance, you know, for the state fair. work and look forward to that all year.

PAUL:

Justin, tell me about some of the new things that are happening at the fair this year.

JUSTIN:

For starters, one of the big things that this year is that our concerts also get you admission into the fair. So that's a new element that we've added to the state fair. We want to make it a better experience for our guests, people that are attending and we want to help save some money where we can for our guests. And so that's one way we found to do that is to allow that concert ticket to get you admission. Another thing is that we have something called the X Riders Cup. This is an international freestyle motocross competition where people can come in and enjoy, I mean, a world-class performance. And that's going to be on the 11th of October. So that'll be that second weekend. One thing that's also new is

For the first time, we are doing a parade with our state fair. On Columbus Day, October 13th, we'll actually kick the day off at 9.30 with a Great American parade that'll go around the fairgrounds. And we've structured the route so that you can park in the fairgrounds, walk out to the outside of our fence line, watch the parade, and then be able to come in and enjoy the fair. We wanted to help maximize people's time and resources by having that parade structured around the fairgrounds.

PAUL:

But it's not just about what's going on outside, but inside the buildings at the fairgrounds too.

JUSTIN:

Yes. As you know, throughout the fair, you mentioned this a minute ago, that there's a lot of things that take place and all of our buildings are occupied during the fair. Something that people tend to forget is that our Kirk Fordyce Equine Center houses multiple events that are included with this fair. Things like the horse and mule pool, things like the stock dog trials where you have these dogs, you know, helping rein in different cattle and things. And there's a tri-state rodeo that takes place over there as well. So there's actually a lot of activity even outside what you would consider the standard fair on our midway. And then this year we have artists and concerts and pageants happening, even though it's, it's October, including things for February with the Dixie national rodeo.

PAUL:

Okay. Now I have to ask too, do we get pig races on the midway this year again?

JUSTIN:

You do get pig races. That's the best way to end my night. Actually. I end every night going down to the pig race and watching and see which one we have. That's a lot of fun.

PAUL:

Yeah. You get a preview of, as you said, the Dixie National Rodeo and you get, there's a circus that's part of the midway activities, the big giant slide, the sky ride, the Ferris wheel. I mean, the funnel cakes and the corn and the Turkey legs and it’s a really family friendly time, a family friendly atmosphere at the Mississippi State Fair. It's going on now through October 13th. Justin, what's your favorite thing about the Mississippi State Fair?

JUSTIN:

Wow. You know, to be honest, my favorite thing, and this is coming from somebody who gets to see it every day is finishing the day with a combination of events. At the end of every day, there's a back-to-back showing where it goes. I could go see the circus at one time and then go from the circus over to the Dixie National. And I can go from the Dixie National over to the pig races. That is my favorite thing to do at the fair. And it's, more so seeing the thrill of the things that come to it. Of course, eating the food. But you know, if I, if that's my favorite, then I'm going to gained some weight really fast throughout this fair, because since I'm here every day, so I have to be careful with that one. But I love seeing the experience.

PAUL:

What's your favorite food?

JUSTIN:

You know, my favorite thing, this is not going to be typical of everybody else, but I love the, like a Philly cheese steak sandwich. That's, that's kind of my go-to. If I want to go grab something unique, that's what I like, which doesn't sound that unique, but for me, it's something I like.

PAUL:

Anything new and interesting on the food front this year?

JUSTIN:

You know, we do have a nice rotation of staples that are coming back. We'll still have your Mr. Turkey Leg, your Malone taffies and so on and so forth. But there is going to be a good selection of new people coming on the scene. One that stood out that I liked from last year was the potato place that had this assortment of different baked potatoes that was delicious. And it's just kind of cool how you can walk through that space through the midway.

And you just catch little surprises, little things that you're not used to seeing, whether it's some kind of sushi themed meal or Mexican themed meal, Greek, all these things that are kind of incorporated. And Paul, while I'm talking about food, something new that we've added this year is in our expo, the marketplace that's happening in the Trade Mart. There is actually going to be food being sold in there. There'll be Southern cooking, home cooking. For those of us that can't handle all the fried foods, you know, from the midway, there will be some healthy options available in the zrade Mart. And so that's something that you can access either from the midway through a new area that we call Liberty Landing. This year we, we've moved the beer tent over to the south side of the Coliseum and trademark connection. And so you can walk through Liberty Landing, get drinks, listen to music, walk inside the trademark, have a great meal and just have a great time.

PAUL:

Somebody is going to say he didn't mention the biscuits. And so I can't get away from this without asking you about those delicious free buttermilk biscuits.

JUSTIN:

Yes, we will be having the biscuits just like every other year. And, know, we always get really excited about the biscuit booth, our team, you know, the department of agriculture helps man that booth and volunteer to help pass out those things. So for us, it's, it's almost like a tradition, you know, all of our department of agriculture is used to lining up, you know, it's kind of like a family atmosphere, except the family is us, you know, that we go in and operate those and distribute those. So it's great. Also at the biscuit booth, now that we're talking about it, there will be an opportunity to give back to veterans. And so we are partnering with an organization to help just make some awareness of ways that you can give back. And so there'll be a QR code there where people can scan that and find out more information about that and donate or do whatever they want to do to help this particular cause.

PAUL:

Justin, you mentioned concerts in the Coliseum earlier. Do you have a look at who we'll get to hear from?

JUSTIN:

So this Sunday we'll have Cory Asbury, October 5th, and he will be performing at 2 PM. He's a great Christian artist that has a little bit of a country sound to him. We're really excited to have him join us. And then on Thursday, the second Thursday of the fair here, we'll have Maddie and Tae and Taylor Holder. What we've tried to do this year is instead of having one performance, I've tried my best to book it so that way we could at least have some additional performers happening just to help amplify that experience that night, help give you a little more bang for your buck in addition to that ticket getting you in into the fair.

PAUL:

Something you all did last year that I think a lot of people appreciate saves you a couple of bucks is parking is now free.

JUSTIN:

That's right. Yeah. Parking is free. And so that's one less line you have to sit in. That's one less dollar you have to spend at a separate location. Like I said, we want to streamline this process for everybody. And so, yeah, you just pull in and park and then come in and enjoy.

PAUL:

One of the things that I've seen lauded on social media between last year's fair and this year's fair is people say how safe they feel and how clean the fairgrounds is. And I'll tell you every event that I come to at the fairgrounds, you all do an incredible job of making it a welcoming place.

JUSTIN:

Yeah, I got to give hats off to the, our team. First off our team on site, myself and a handful of people every morning we go out and we circle this place, picking up trash and making sure that everything is clean and our midway crew does the same daily. They walk the midway and make sure it's clean. And then our law enforcement, have a joint force when it comes to that. We strategically line out every day to handle the different crowds, to make sure everybody sees and feels their presence and feels safe because of it.

PAUL:

Justin, finally, a question about a special couple of days this year and a partnership with the Two Mississippi Museums. You'll have an opportunity to visit those museums during the fair for free.

JUSTIN:

Yeah, Paul, this is something that really should happen. We're in such close proximity to the Two Mississippi Museums, that a partnership is only natural. And this collaboration is something that was very organic, very fluid for us. We had a great experience talking through this with our friends over at the Two Mississippi Museums. There'll be free admission on October 3rd, October 10th, and October 11th. And those are all sponsored by different people. Hitachi Energy is sponsoring one of those days as well as Nancy and Ray Nielsen and Mayor Hohrn is also sponsoring a day. And so this just shows a great way of collaboration between these events for an event like the state fair that really helps the community and helps everybody in the community. And it's nice to see that our neighbors and friends are willing to help jump in and support to make that happen.

PAUL:

From livestock shows to pig races, from Philly cheese steaks on the midway to home cooked meals in the Trade Mart building, the Mississippi State Fair offers everything for everyone through October 13th with free parking concert tickets that include fair admission and new experiences around every corner. This year's fair captures what makes Jackson special that blend of tradition, family and community celebration. We'll have links to our guide to the state fair and more in our show notes at visitjackson.com/soulsessions. This podcast is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization from Mississippi's Capital City. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Ricky Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor. If you want to know more about all of the great things happening in Jackson from new developments to the latest events, you can find that at visitjackson.com.

I'm Paul Wolf and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

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