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State Fair of Texas changing rules for minors
In 2023, the State Fair of Texas will require minors to be accompanied by an adult to enter. The changes come as several fairs make alterations to their safety procedures.
DALLAS - Starting this year, the State Fair of Texas will require all fairgoers under 18 to be accompanied by an adult after 5 p.m.
The fair says the change to its "minors policy" is a safety measure.
Under the new policy, minors must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or chaperone, who is 21 or older.
"You'll come in, and you will be stopped by a safety team member after 5 p.m. and they will check that chaperone's ID," said Karissa Condoianis, the senior vice president of public relations.
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The safety team members, who are all retired police officers, will be in marked shirts.
Each adult can be responsible for up to 6 minors.
Once inside the fair, the adults are not required to stay with the minors under the new policy. However, the State Fair encourages that they stay in communication with each other and be aware of their location on the fairgrounds during their visit.
"This isn't to limit attendance, this isn't to limit people from having a great time at the fair, just our number 1 priority is to have a safe State Fair of Texas," said Condoianis. "We feel this is the next measure we can put in place to ensure that we're creating that safe environment for all of our fairgoers."
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State Fair of Texas adds new teen chaperone requirement
The State Fair of Texas announced a new chaperone policy to go into effect when the fair returns next month. Starting at 5 p.m., minors won't be allowed into the fair without someone at least 21 years or older with them. State Fair Senior VP Karissa Condoianis joined Good Day to talk about the new safety policy.
She says safety team members will not be checking IDs once people are inside.
"We do have officers in plain clothes and in uniform, so we have them circling the grounds watching for suspicious behavior," Condoianis added.
That also means watching for potential disrupters like the ones who went charging through the fairgrounds on a Friday night last year causing panic and shutting down operations an hour earlier.
Anyone, including adults, who violate the fair's code of conduct will be told to leave.
Condoianis believes this policy is the best course of action to enhance the existing safety measures for all fairgoers, vendors and employees.
"I'm sure there will be some growing pains as we implement it the first weekend, but we hope for everyone's patience as we roll out this new policy because it really is about safety at the fair over those 24 days," she said.
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Another new safety feature that fairgoers will likely not notice is a new security screening system.
Instead of walking through metal detectors, folks will simply walk through what is called an Open Gate System where they will be screened.
This year the State Fair of Texas opens on Sept. 29 and runs through Oct. 22.