Statehouse News Bureau

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DeWine Kicks Off 166th Ohio State Fair

By Andy Chow

Published July 24, 2019 at 9:31 PM EDT

Gov. Mike DeWine officially opens the Ohio State Fair. [Andy Chow] — Gov. Mike DeWine officially opens the Ohio State Fair.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected make their way to Columbus to enjoy the food, rides, games, and animals at the Ohio State Fair.

Backed by the All-Ohio State Fair Choir and Band, Gov. Mike DeWine officially opened the 166th Ohio State Fair.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by the traditional tour of the fair, DeWine’s first as governor.

But DeWine says he’s been coming to the fair ever since he was a young boy, when his family would go to early mass on Sundays then make their way to Columbus from Greene County.

“Come on out, you can’t get better than this weather, you can’t get better than this band, the choir, there’s something going on at this fair virtually every single minute from the time it opens to the time it closes down at night,” says DeWine.

He says celebrating agriculture has become especially important this year as farmers struggle with heavy flooding.