Florida State Fair returns with new food, attractions

The 2025 Florida State Fair opens today and runs through Feb. 17 at the fairgrounds in Tampa, with the largest midway in North America and a slate of fresh attractions and eclectic foods.

Three new ride additions are coming to the midway: The Kraken, a pendulum-style ride towering 147 feet with an 80-foot swinging arm, marks its first appearance at a U.S. fair. For younger visitors, the Candy Adventure Fun House combines a 131-foot mirror maze with sensory elements like candy-themed aromas and light displays.

The Florida State Fair boasts the largest midway in the nation, attracting more than 500,000 people each year. Photo provided.

“We also have The Thunderbird. It’s a swing ride, and it’s 177 feet tall,” said Florida State Fair CEO Cheryl Flood. “It just came in, and it’s debuting here at the Florida State Fair, first time in the United States.”

The fair is also introducing expanded discount days, including:

• Hospitality & Service Industry Day Feb. 10, offering $5 admission for workers.
• Girl Scouts Day Feb. 9, featuring free entry for uniformed scouts and exclusive badge-earning opportunities.
• Additional Heroes Day benefits Feb. 6 and Feb. 9 for military personnel and first responders.

The fair is bookended with fireworks on opening and closing weekends (Feb. 7-8 and Feb. 15-16) at 8:30 p.m. New this year, the fair will host a watch party as the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team takes on the Detroit Red Wings at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8. 

“We’re encouraging everybody to bring their lawn chairs, and we’re going to have tons of activities for kids to do, so it’ll be a fun every for families to enjoy,” Flood said.

A first-ever Florida State Fair mobile app launches this year with real-time schedules, interactive maps and a “My Fair Day” planner.

“What’s great about the app is you can literally plan your whole day,” Flood explained. “It’s got a calendar feature, so you can plug in what food you want to eat, what entertainment you want to hit for the day, and it’s got reminders and updates.”

27 new food items will debut at the 2025 Florida State Fair, including a Seafood Boil Stuffed Potato. The baked potato is filled with butter, cheese, shrimp, sweet crab, spicy andouille sausage and sweet corn nuggets, then topped with garlic butter sauce. Photo provided.

The app will also push out notifications about limited-time food offerings like Keel Farms’ “Fair Favorites” cider flight and a Southern Comfort funnel cake topped with sausage gravy.

Flood said fairgoers can expect 27 new food items this year, on top of the dozens of vendors serving classic fair foods like funnel cakes, corn dogs and deep-fried Oreos.

“Some really exciting new foods I think people will want to taste are this barbecue stuffed waffle and a pretzel rolled corn on the cob,” Flood said. “They also have a ‘Dad Bod’ on there, which is basically a pork belly sandwich with cheese. Oh my goodness, it looks incredible.”

Eating contests will be held every day at 3 p.m.

While the focus is not on nationally-known headliners at the Florida State Fair, there is continuous entertainment throughout the nearly two-week schedule. Headliners include magic act Aaron Radatz, Jurassic Kingdom dinosaur exhibits, a silent disco, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band and Blank Space, a Taylor Swift tribute band Friday (Feb. 7).

First held in Tampa in 1904, The Florida State Fair has become one of the largest events in the Sunshine State, attracting more than 500,000 people each year. In addition to food, rides and entertainment, the annual fair is home to a robust agricultural program, a circus and interactive animal exhibits. Pet enthusiasts of all ages can check out new shows this year, including Disc-Connected K9s, a Frisbee dog show, and a horse jumping show Feb. 15 at 9 a.m.

“A lot of people don’t get exposed to farm animals these days, so we want the kids to be able to experience that firsthand,” Flood said. “We just want it to be a great experience for people to enjoy and develop lifelong memories at the fair.”

The Florida State Fair maintains its youth admission policy requiring guests under 18 to be accompanied by adults after 6 p.m. Parking is free. Find all information about the Florida State Fair on the official website.

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