As the old adage goes, “Everybody loves a parade!” That’s exactly what South Florida Fair organizers learned after receiving positive feedback regarding this year’s Mardi Gras-themed parades as part of the 2017 New Orleans theme. The response was so favorable that fair organizers have decided to make the entire 2018 theme all about parades.
Each day during the 17-day run of the fair, a famous parade from around the world will be featured. After this year’s fair, patrons took to Facebook to suggest some of their most-loved parades, which helped the fair determine what parades it plans to include. The specific parades will be revealed closer to fair time, which will run from Jan. 12-28, 2018.
The floats will include upbeat music, colorful costumes and authentically decorated Mardi Gras floats, which also will be on display in the Magical Parades exhibition. The fair also will showcase displays from other notable parades.
The parades also will include the fair’s two signature Bike Nite parades, which typically attract more than 250 bikers riding an assortment of motorcycles. Guests lined the fair’s streets during last year’s Mardi Gras parades, not only to see the floats and experience the festivities, but they also hoped to catch one of the strings of beads being thrown by float riders.
The fair will continue its tradition of hosting an award-winning agriculture and livestock program featuring more than 1,000 exhibitors from 30 Florida counties, world-class ice skating performances daily, four stages of music and entertainment, the historic Yesteryear Village, and more than 200 rides, games and attractions. The best in fried foods and other tasty, exotic treats also will continue to be a big draw for many fairgoers.
Produced by the South Florida Fair & Palm Beach County Expositions, a nonprofit organization, the fair will be held at the South Florida Fairgrounds, located at 9067 Southern Blvd. For more information, call (561) 793-0333 or visit www.southfloridafair.com.
