Arizona State Fair businesses are making final preparations for opening night
PHOENIX - We are hours away from the food, fun, sights and sounds of the Arizona State Fair.
Gates open at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Before that happens, crews are working around the clock to be ready to welcome the guests.
Chris Lopez, vice president of Ray Cammack Shows who puts on the fair, gave us a behind the scenes look as the final touches are being made on the rides and a fair favorite, the Midway Games.
"We've got everything from the classics: the break a bottle, to the ring a bottle, to the bottle up. We have all the old nostalgic games," said Lopez.
And you can't have a Midway Game without prizes.
"Just figure and imagine a huge build-a-bear. That’s what we have," Lopez said.
And he wasn't lying. Their warehouse is filled with thousands and thousands of stuffed animals from the Hello Kitty, Pokémons and the traditional teddy bears.
"When we open tomorrow at 4 p.m., we would have over 60,000 pieces of stuffed toys out at each one of the games last year. In 2023, we gave away over 400,000," he said.
Since 2020, the company has stuffed its own 150,000 pieces.
By the time the fair is over, there will have been 100 53-foot trailers filled with prizes dropped off.
The fair runs through Oct. 27th.