The iconic Ferris Wheel can be spotted from blocks away and the smell of fried food is taking over parts of Palmetto, which means the Manatee County Fair is just days away.

  • Manatee County Fair first of the year in the U.S.
  • State inspectors examined fair's 52 rides on Jan. 8
  • Ride provider conducts annual and daily inspections of rides

Not only does the Manatee County Fair kick of fair season in Florida, it's the first one of the year in the country.

"Out of 3,000 fairs across the United States and we're the only one going for a day of two, that's pretty wonderful!" said Dan West, the fair's manager.

On Monday, inspectors from the Florida Department of Agriculture made their way through many of of the fair's 52 rides. These state inspections are standard procedure before every fair taking place throughout the state.

 

 

But each of these rides is also subject to a yearly, more invasive set of testing conducted by a third party engineer. The operators call it non-destructive annual testing.

"It's some of what you might call 'X-ray testing,'" explained Charles Panacek, owner of Belle City Amusements. "With machinery they can X-ray steel and things of that nature, but they're all manufacturer requirements that we must meet every year."

Because the Manatee County Fair is the first one of the year, that annual test takes place before the fairs kick off. Then Belle City Amusements, the company that provides the rides, has its own set of daily inspections, meaning that this fair gets more eyes than any other.  

The Manatee County Fair runs Jan. 11-21. For more information, visit manateecountyfair.com.