Quirky attractions, but then again, that’s the Arkansas State Fair.
“It takes us all year to work on this. Starting right now, we’ll start working on next year,” Ralph Shoptaw, general manager of the fair, said.
Shoptaw invited us to the fairgrounds where the rides are going up. They’re carefully arranged and awaiting a series of inspections before anyone can ride.
Then there are the potential workers standing outside the gate, hoping for a job.
“I work one part-time at nights so I was hoping to get a little extra part-time money,” Frederick Rowe said.
Every since police arrested a sex offender who worked a booth at the fair a few years ago, all employees must undergo a background check and drug test.
“If it’s skeletons in your closet and you have something to hide you shouldn’t come out here. Everyone would like to know who’s in their surroundings,” Rowe said.
Shoptaw has asked the LRPD to have officers in the surrounding neighborhoods, to make sure folks have trips to and from their cars.
There’s one more thing Shoptaw said will put a bow on this year’s fair, and he hopes our own Jeff Baskin can help him out.
“This weather is perfect fair weather. If it can stay like this, we’ll take a lot of money to the bank,” Shoptaw said.
