The Oklahoma State Fair will be hosting College Day on Thursday, a new event specifically for university-age attendees.
On Oct. 5, 1907, the Oklahoma State Fair held its opening day. More than 100 years later, the once-small fair has grown into a multi-week event with thousands of guests.
This year, the Oklahoma State Fair is holding their first College Day, in which all college students who show their school ID at the gate will get into the fair for $5.
Fair spokesperson Scott Munz said that the idea of College Day came from a class project by students at Oklahoma State University. Students went to the 2022 Oklahoma State Fair, and, when they wrote their report, many were shocked that there wasn’t a discount for college students.
“They planted the seed,” Munz said. “A few months after that, another class from Stillwater suggested that we add a college night, but we were already down that path.”
Munz said the goal of College Day is to make experiencing the fair affordable for students and to add this to the list of traditions. Students will be able to get the same experience as if they were paying full price for tickets.
It wouldn’t be a true fair experience without the food, and Munz said he recommends that be the first thing guests do. From fair classics like a turkey leg or funnel cake, to new options like pizza on a stick, there’s plenty to choose from.
On top of reduced ticket prices, College Day will feature the Pride of Oklahoma, Sooner Spirit squads, OU mascots Boomer and Sooner and Pistol Pete from Oklahoma State University. There will also be a concert with Kolby Cooper and Cam Allen, country artists from Texas and Oklahoma. Performances will be located at the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Plaza.
“A movie can entertain you for fifteen dollars for two hours, but we can entertain you for the same cost for an entire day,” Munz said.
The Oklahoma State Fair’s gates open at 10 a.m., and the carnival opens at 1 p.m. Vendors are set to close at 9:30 p.m. but may close later if the fair is busy.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate for the College Day discount or online for full price.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley. Zoe De Leon and Grace Rhodes copy edited this story.
