No visit to the Oregon State Fair is complete without a stop for ice cream at the Oregon Dairy Women’s booth for service with a smile on August 24, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)
They check the safety belts on the carnival rides.
And they dish up the onions on your burger.
From one end of the fairgrounds to the other, an army of employees work to make the Oregon State Fair hum.
Most work for vendors. They are the smiling faces at the food booth counter. They are the eager marketers who hope you’ll stop and listen.
The state fair runs through Labor Day, opening daily at 10 a.m. Through Thursday, the fair runs until 10 p.m., then is open until 11 p.m. for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday’s finale will end at 10 p.m.
Adult admission is $12, children 6 to 12 are $10 and under 5 are free. Seniors? Anyone 65 or older gets in for $3.
Cassidy Clark extols the virtues of a hot tub model to potential buyers visiting the Haven hot tub booth at the Oregon State Fair on August 24, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)An Oregon State Fair worker sells ride tickets in a booth on August 25, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)A member of The Beat Goes On marching band entertains the crowd while on parade at the Oregon State Fair on August 24, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)A member of The Beat Goes On marching band entertains the crowd while on parade at the Oregon State Fair on August 24, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)A worker in JR’s Taqueria booth keeps the food fresh and hot during the Oregon State Fair on August 25, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)Denice Ackerson of DA Leather measures a belt for a customer in their booth at the Oregon State Fair on August 24, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)Gabriel F. keeps the food chain going in the food concession stand at the Oregon State Fair on August 25, 2024. His employer wouldn’t allow him to share his full name. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)Oscar Carrillo shows his favorite plant for sale in his booth at the Oregon State Fair on August 25, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)John S., ride operator, shows riders on the rollercoaster how to properly show their excitement as they come around turns at the Oregon State Fair on August 24, 2024. HIs employer wouldn’t allow him to share his last name. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)Emily Wolff from Oregon Beverage Services delivers a drink to a customer at the Oregon State Fair at the State Fairgrounds on August 24, 2024. (LAURA TESLER/Special to Salem Reporter)
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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
