It’s the time of year for fried food, live music and head-spinning rides
Sofia Bardelli, 10, left, and her sister Fiona Bardelli, 7, right, hang on during a ride on opening day of the Florida State Fair at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa on Feb. 10. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
It’s the time of year for fried food, live music and head-spinning rides
The Florida State Fair opened on Thursday featuring fried foods, entertainment and plenty of farm animals to pet. Rides included “Street Fighter” the thrill seekers or the tried-and-true Ferris wheel for the risk-averse.
From Feb. 10-21, visitors can purchase tickets to the fair, which has several discount days and even a Valentine date option.
In the meantime, plan your day by diving into this set of photos from opening day on Thursday.
People arrive on opening day of the Florida State Fair at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
Noah Berrios, 8, and Grayson Sahebzani, 7, of Valrico, on a field trip with Bell Shoals Academy, pet a large pig while visiting with animals in the petting area. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
People arrive on opening day, walking past colorful booths selling a variety of food. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
Turkey legs on the grill, one of many available food options on the midway. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
A visitor grabs a corn on the cob. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
Visitors walk through the Midway among colorful booths and neon lights. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Jessica Harrell shows her son, Chayse Foster, 3, how to play the ring toss game. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Lights and colors blur with the quick spin of a carousel. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Children sit inside big tea cups, spinning around, one of the many rides on the midway. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Kenna Brown, 2, smiles from her stroller as she holds on to a bag of water holding a goldfish she won. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
:format(webP)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/ITX5Z6J7C5CBJADL5TCUZ2F72I.JPG "Sofia Bardelli, 10, left, and her sister Fiona Bardelli, 7, right, hang on during a ride on opening day of the Florida State Fair at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa on Feb. 10.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/QUH2V6UF3JFJTJJEA3FIHJ2ONM.JPG "People arrive on opening day of the Florida State Fair at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/T5V7Y62K2NBXRJXH6DTEM4HJYU.JPG "Noah Berrios, 8, and Grayson Sahebzani, 7, of Valrico, on a field trip with Bell Shoals Academy, pet a large pig while visiting with animals in the petting area.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/OZVKU77KUNFKTMHUV67PXBI6YY.JPG "People arrive on opening day, walking past colorful booths selling a variety of food.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/K3ELM7LNHNBEFOA7TY3IAYKI6M.JPG "Turkey legs on the grill, one of many available food options on the midway.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/AVQS3IC6KNDRDPBV6I3ALIWBDU.JPG "A visitor grabs a corn on the cob.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/RFXLENNRLZHGZCAN3SJLCO2ZTU.JPG "Visitors walk through the Midway among colorful booths and neon lights.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/XYTYOA526BF4NMMPNAD2T56TYM.JPG "Jessica Harrell shows her son, Chayse Foster, 3, how to play the ring toss game.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/IKDJMSCQWRF6NOJL7YZEJXXU5M.JPG "Lights and colors blur with the quick spin of a carousel.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/EZCFDO4J6VA3LI52TGUBVRCK4U.JPG "Children sit inside big tea cups, spinning around, one of the many rides on the midway.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/4VAZRHJY7BFYLD6DCJW5L3BEPI.JPG "Kenna Brown, 2, smiles from her stroller as she holds on to a bag of water holding a goldfish she won.")
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/3611448e-d873-4fba-8983-fbd254e49fbd.png "Ivy Ceballo - Photographer")
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/bd5c3f56-8adb-4e0d-bd85-dcfb70609066.png "Luis Santana - Photographer")
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/1099d152-4a90-494e-aa2f-5c6df1c4c32e.png "Martha Asencio-Rhine - Photo Director, Projects & Features")
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