The 2026 Ohio State Fair in Columbus has implemented enhanced security measures and opened a new Agriculture Center ahead of the event.
The fair, which typically draws around 900,000 visitors, now requires minors to be accompanied by an adult aged 21 or older after 6 p.
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m. to prevent teen takeovers and disorderly gatherings.
Additional security cameras have been installed in parking lots to reduce vehicle break-ins. Officials also advise visitors to leave firearms at home or in their vehicles for safety.
Lt. Brice Nihiser of the Ohio State Highway Patrol emphasized the increased presence of troopers at the fairgrounds.
“This is the largest concentration of state troopers that you're going to see in one given area, at any given time,” Nihiser said.
He added that groups causing disruption will be broken up, and minors found unaccompanied after 6 p. m.
will be escorted off the grounds and reconnected with a parent or guardian.
“If it's after 6 p. m.
, and we escort [a minor] off state grounds, we're making sure they're reconnected with a parent or guardian or another adult,” Nihiser said.
“And if it's a crime, then we're investigating that crime.”
Alicia Shoults, deputy director of experience operations for the fair, noted the chaperone policy has been effective over the past three years.
“We're not necessarily looking around for a youth who's unaccompanied at 6 p. m.
,” Shoults said.
“However, if we see an individual who's causing problems and they're not with their adult chaperone, then they are going to be addressed.”
