You can hear the sound of people yelling and the rumble of roller coasters blocks away from the Mid-South Fair grounds all this week. And until Sunday, when the Mid-South Fair ends, there are booths selling various foods on sticks, funnel cakes, turkey legs and lemonade.
Anthony Petrina, freshman music education major, said he can't wait to go the fair. He loves the roller coasters that drop, swing and make you feel like you are flying, he said.
"It gets your adrenaline pumping. Then they try to sell you stuff and you're like, whatever," Petrina said.
He is not worried about the parking or the lines, he said. He plans to park on someone's front lawn that is offering five dollar parking, like Buddy Grandi of 2307 Evlyn Ave. Grandi held up a sign yesterday advertising his homemade parking lot.
He said that business has been pretty good so far, but he is expecting the weekend will bring in the biggest crowds.
It may, however, be getting busy even sooner. The Mid-South Fair announced Monday that through Thursday it will be offering two-for-one admission to everyone, said Misty Craft, spokesperson for the Mid-South Fairgrounds.
It is in an effort to help families of all economic standing enjoy the activities, she said.
Some University of Memphis students said the cost of the food and activities is a little high, but it doesn't deter them from going.
Johnta Johnson, sophomore management information systems and business major, said it doesn't bother him the food can be expensive.
"That's no big deal. They have to make a profit somewhere," Johnson said.
Johnson is from Nashville and will be going to the fair in Memphis for the first time this weekend.
He wants to see what is different from the state fair in Nashville, and his biggest complaint about his home town fair was that the rides never change, he said.
"I am tired of seeing the same rides over and over each year," Johnson said.
Besides riding his favorite rides, which he describes as those "that twist you upside down and all that," he likes to play the games.
He usually plays, and wins, the basketball games.
Unlike Petrina and Johnson, junior biology major Joy Stokes said she plays the games and stays away from the rides.
Stokes doesn't ride any of the rides because they scare her. She said the food is the highlight of the fair for her. She likes funnel cakes, cheese and steaks.
Craft said that the rides are checked for safety every morning before the fair.
The food at the fair is a different experience for one U of M student, who is from New Orleans.
Lorie Seruntine, junior geology and French major, said she hasn't been to the Mid-South Fair yet, but plans to go before it is over.
One of her favorite parts of the fair in New Orleans was the Cajun food, she said.
Her favorite ride was called the Zipper, she said. It spun you around in cage that was connected to a bigger wheel that went in circles.
