Monday, September 23, 2013 

For its 98th consecutive year, the East Texas State Fair opened for operations on Friday in Tyler, Texas in the United States. The event features brand new attractions including a high dive show, a wolf pack exhibit and an Old West exhibit. According to fair officials, the event is projected to bring in roughly US$7.5 million in total receipts. Heavy rains on Friday seemingly impacted the opening day attendance, with very few attendees present at 4pm local time.

On Thursday evening, members of the city’s Chamber of Commerce were treated to a preview of food offerings to be offered during the fair. The menu included corn dogs and funnel cakes, longstanding fair staples. The fair’s President stated that all fair employees are now subjected to drug screening before, during and after the fair.

The dive show’s owner and producer told Wikinews his show had some unusual setup obstacles to overcome, compared to other fair venues. The show commonly uses giant concrete blocks as anchors for their dive tower, but for this fair, they had to anchor a portion of the tower to a tree, about 30 feet away. The show’s tower stands eight stories high, with performers attempting to dive into a pool just 9.5 feet deep.