LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas State Fairgrounds will have an additional rule for the state fair this year.
All patrons under 18 must be accompanied by an adult 21 or older after 6 p.m. Central.
"Last year, we had a really big year, we were over 500,000," Fairgrounds Director of Sales and Promotions Will Hornburg said. "You're going to have a few people, a few bad apples. We're trying to eliminate as many of that as possible."
Hornburg said no specific instance made them announce this change, but issues involving groups of teens and kids left unattended over the past several years.
"A lot of issues with kids at night, usually weekend nights," Hornburg said. "It's not just us; it's the fair industry. It's across the country."
The process of changing the curfew started during last year's fair. Hornburg said they looked at fairs across the country, specifically South Carolina and Indiana, as examples of state fairs implementing youth curfew.
Hornburg said they decided to make the change after seeing those states have success.
"After doing that and talking with local law enforcement, everybody was on the same page," Hornburg said. "We said we need to move forward."
As for how they'll enforce this, Hornburg said they'll check IDs to ensure everyone is of age and with whom they need to be with.
"Anybody that may be in the fair already that's unaccompanied, we have the right to check an ID if they're causing trouble," Hornburg said. "We'll escort them out."
According to Hornburg, it's not a change they take lightly. He said they understand the change may affect business.
However, Hornburg said their goal at the end of the day is family fun and safety – this is one way to do that.
"We want to keep people coming back year after year... we've been here over 80 years," Hornburg said. "We just got to adapt and evolve, and that's what we're going to do."
For more information on the policy, click here.