Clark County Fairgrounds — Attraction in Ridgefield

Walking through the Clark County Fair for the first time in...well, let's just say...a long time, feels like stepping through a time rift into the past, when I was a teenager spending all day, for multiple days, experiencing everything this annual event has to offer. This is both a good and bad thing.

Good: It feels like nothing has changed at all in the past thirty-whatever years.

Bad: It feels like nothing has changed AT ALL in the past thirty mumble mumble years.

In whichever of those two camps you find yourself falling into will decide whether the Clark County Fair is either a "do-not-miss yearly celebration", or a "once-in-a-decade-or-so money-pit distraction". Having outgrown the former since I no longer care about the amusement park thrill rides, I find myself edging slowly towards the latter, though by no means am I indifferent to all of its remaining charms.

My wife and I both love seeing the animals, eating (select, meticulously chosen, and absolutely NOT deep fried) junk food, and seeing the kids have a blast enjoying all the things I used to love about the fair. Concerning almost everything else, we are ambivalent. We know it is going to be expensive. We know the traffic and the parking sucks (although they've definitely improved things over the years, at least based on our first-Saturday visit). Most, if not all of the live entertainment is not to our taste. Many of the vendors in the exhibition hall are pushy and annoying; just let us browse in peace! And of course, when people gather en masse, the levels of stupid, oblivious and downright rude skyrocket into the stratosphere.

Still, as a nostalgic walk down memory lane, when I wasn't bitter or jaded enough to write a review like this one...that alone is worth the price...

Been going to this fair for 23 years. First time having an "Irish Sundae" which is essentially a loaded baked potato. I guess they've been serving the fair since 1975. N.A.S.T.Y. is this word for these things. Not sure how they're still serving "food" at the fair because it is so sub par that I wouldn't even feed it to my dog.

You don't get to see a photo of the what you're getting and the entire process is done behind a wall, so you can't see it until they've handed it to you. After taking one look, I didn't even take one bite and told them I wasn't going to eat it. I ordered one with cheese, bacon, and chives. The chives were freeze dried and looked like they've been sitting in a jar since the 80s. The bacon was pale and fatty. The cheese looked like melted cheese whiz. The cashier refused to give me a refund after spending over $14 on it. I will be disputing with my credit card company since they pretty much stole my money for inedible food. Surprising for a masonic organization. You'd think that they would have a little more honor and dignity.

Regarding the fair itself, I was happier to see lower ticket amounts for the rides. My daughter was able to ride four decent rides for $20. Everything else was pretty much the same as any other year. No piglets this year. No reptiles this year. However, we did get to see a camel and the Clydesdales were awesome as usual.

Also...there needs to be MORE WATER FOUNTAINS. The only one that we saw was in the exhibition hall. It's absolutely ridiculous that people have to spend $3 for bottled water that they can't even fill up anywhere! Capitalism at its finest when they force you...

Absolutely overwhelmed with the disrespect that took place during the 2024 clark county fair. I brought my little sister thinking we could ride a few rides but really went for the experience together. I bought the 18 ticket bracelet each for $20. The second bracelet didn’t print out the scanner which I did not realize nor think much of it until we waiting in line for 30 mins to ride the roller coaster ride. There the worker scanned my bracelet and of course did not let my sister on due to hers not having a QR code. I right there left the line to get the bracelet issue resolved (this used up at least 6 tickets for me) once getting a new bracelet from the customer service box. We got back in line and waited again for another 20 mins. Just to find the workers switched and the new worker wouldn’t even listen to my question. Instead he said he couldn't understand me because he wasn’t American. Out of the frustration I experienced I said “this is stupid” as I walked off. After scanning our bracelets again using more of our tickets, we got up to the front of the line just for the next worker to not let us on because they thought I called them stupid. We were denied of a ride, disrespected and embarrassed Infront of the entire line. Nothing has been resolved even after contacting customer service to see if I can get some kind of refund. This was absolutely disappointing as I have NEVER experienced something like this...