Cheap thrills are thriving in summer

The wafting aromas of funnel cakes, cotton candy, and corn dogs greet thousands of people at state fairs each summer.

At the Ohio State Fair, which will take place July 29 to Aug. 9 in Columbus, kids can enjoy $1 rides, enter their goats in livestock competitions, and slide down a 140-foot giant slide on a burlap sack. When you get hungry, visit one of the 175 food vendors, who collectively grossed $3.95 million last year over the 12-day fair. New this year: a watermelon-seed spitting contest and a BMX show filled with aerial stunts.

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