The 120th State Fair of Louisiana Opens in Shreveport Next Thursday, and Advance Tickets Save You Money on Weekends

North Louisiana's biggest fall gathering is a week away. The State Fair of Louisiana opens Thursday, Oct. 29, at the State Fairgrounds, 3701 Hudson Avenue in Shreveport, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 15. The Shreveport-Bossier Advocate counts this year's edition as the 120th annual fair.

Buying ahead pays off if you're going on a weekend. Advance general admission costs $11.50 through Wednesday, Oct. 28, KTBS reported. At the gate, adults pay $10 on Wednesdays and Thursdays and $17 Friday through Sunday. Kids 3 to 12 pay $5 and $10 at the gate or $9.25 in advance, according to the fair's ticket page, and children under 3 get in free. A presale-only Pay One Price ticket, admission plus unlimited rides, is $43.75; after opening day, wristbands sell on the midway for $38. Parking is free every day.

The best deal of all comes midweek and early. Admission is free until 3 p.m. on opening day, Oct. 29, and on Friday, Oct. 30, and again on every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the fair is open after that. The fair is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. It opens at 11 a.m. every day it runs and closes at 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Gates and ticket sales stop 30 minutes before closing, so don't cut it close.

KTBS reported more than 55 carnival rides and over 100 food vendors this year. The big new ride is the Freedom 250 Ferris Wheel, which stood at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington before it made its way to Shreveport.

The music doesn't cost anything beyond admission. The lineup opens Oct. 30 with Titus & Company, Ary the Vibe and Tamara Clark. Ryan Waters and country singer Colin Stough play Halloween night. Anxious, Rockin Redeyes and 8-Track follow on Nov. 1, Mini KISS plays Nov. 6, and Luster Baker, Vickie Baker and Avail Hollywood take Nov. 7. The Noah Grant Band, Renee & The Strays and Clay Logan Band share the bill on Nov. 8, and Alyssa Freeman and the Justin Sanders Band play Nov. 13. Nov. 14 is Latino Day, and the fair wraps up Nov. 15 with Gospel Mega Fest and Faith at the Fair.

The rodeo pulls a crowd of its own. The Louisiana Rodeo Cowboys Association Finals Rodeo returns Oct. 30, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum. Out in the livestock barns, the calendar starts earlier, with animals arriving Oct. 27, before the midway opens, according to the fair's livestock show schedule. Judging goes on through the first two weeks, including days when the fair itself is closed. For the young exhibitors in the junior livestock shows and their families, the barns are what the whole fair is about, no matter what's going on over on the midway.

Your admission also covers Circus Hollywood, the Hollywood Racing Pigs, the Belmont World of Magic show, animal exhibits and street performers. Halloween also brings the new Midway Candy Crawl, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 31, when concessionaires hand out candy and children's admission is $5, KTBS reported. A few extras cost more. The Food Crawl, on Nov. 4 and Nov. 11, is a $59 package with samples from 10 vendors, admission, a T-shirt and a Ferris wheel ride. On family discount days, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, carnival ride wristbands are $28.

Parents will want to know two rules before heading out. A new clear-bag policy allows transparent bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches and small non-clear bags up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Everyone goes through metal detectors and bag checks, and weapons aren't allowed. Starting at 6 p.m., anyone under 18 has to come in with a parent, guardian or chaperone who is at least 21, and one adult can supervise no more than six minors.

The fair dates to 1906. If you have questions, the hours page lists the main office at 318-635-1361. Weekend visitors save by buying by Wednesday, and anyone can skip the admission charge entirely before 3 p.m. on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

Photo: Steve Snodgrass, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.