Your preview for the 2024 Coastal Carolina Fair in SC | Charleston Scene

LADSON — The smell of smoking turkey legs. The sound of giddy screams on the circling swings. The sight of flashing neon lights and jumbo signs advertising every fried food you could imagine.

The Coastal Carolina Fair, founded in 1957, is back Oct. 31-Nov. 10 with nearly 65 rides, nightly concerts on the Lakefront and Parkway stages, a fleet of festive food vendors and sideshow attractions with giant stuffed animal prizes. Plus, there’s much more to come at Exchange Park, 9850 Highway 78, in Ladson.

We’ve got your roundup of what’s new and what to do for the 67th year of this annual Lowcountry tradition.

Fair party

On the food front, some experimental bites are always in the mix, according to JE “Jay” Wallace III, Coastal Carolina Fair’s director of public relations.

“These vendors are professionals,” he said. “They do this all over the country and they’re always innovative and trying different things.”

While there is always something new and unusual in the rotation, sometimes it doesn’t last long. Take the scorpion pizza from a few years back – it was definitely a novelty, but one that faded quickly.

It juxtaposes the ever-popular pickle pizza, one that will be back again this year.

New to the vinegar-soaked cucumber world, however, are pickle-infused sodas (there will be both lemonade and Dr. Pepper options), a gator and fried pickle mac n’ cheese, sweet and spicy cheese puff fried pickles and pickle funnel cake.

On the sweet side, Fluffy’s Donuts will introduce a glazed donut coffee float, while Emma’s will offer Oreo crumble, birthday cake and white chocolate cranberry cookie dough. For funnel cakes, there will be Cinnamon Toast Crunch, red velvet Oreo with cream cheese and Hot Cheetos with chocolate or nacho cheese options.

All aboard the rides

With a new year surely comes new rides, provided by the country’s largest traveling amusement park, Reitoffer Shows.