The Tulsa State Fair opens with new and improved fairgrounds

It's official; the Tulsa State Fair is open for business. The gates opened Thursday for the Midway, and the livestock arenas. News on Six reporter Heather Brooker looked at some of the changes that

Thursday, September 27th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

It's official; the Tulsa State Fair is open for business. The gates opened Thursday for the Midway, and the livestock arenas. News on Six reporter Heather Brooker looked at some of the changes that are taking place at the livestock arena this year.

It's amazing what a difference a few changes can make. Many people we talked to say they come to this fair because it's one of the biggest in the area for livestock and they enjoy the people they meet. 18-year-old Katrina Herrell is cleaning up her limousine bull for the Tulsa State Fair. "It's a big show." She's been coming to the fair for 8 years. And she's looking forward to watching some of her favorite events. "I like seeing the different breeds of cattle in the open show. Especially the Belgian blues."

Steven Kinser shows purebred Belgium blues. He drove all the way from Kansas to enter his bull "granite" in this yearâ€™s national Belgium blue contest. "This is a Belgium blue. This is a high muscle breed they have the highest percentage of retail product per animal.â€ He says in addition to being the site for nationals, the Tulsa State Fair offers friendly people and nice facilities. "The Tulsa show you always have a lot of people coming in and stopping and asking questions, having a good time telling everybody about the cattle."

One of the biggest changes for livestock visitors is the new show arena. It's much larger than in previous years, and it's indoors with air conditioning. Horse lovers say even though some changes are still underway, they think the new facilities will step up the level of competition. David Phillips, "The nice new stalls facilities and the nice new arena over there. It'll be really nice when they get finished. It's really a better set up than they've had in years past.â€

Thursday was the opening night at the newly renovated Pavilion at the Tulsa County fairgrounds. Disney's Jungle Adventures on Ice was the first performance in the Pavilion since its big facelift. Tickets are still available for all Disney on Ice shows through Sunday. Call 584-2000 for ticket information.