SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Sioux Empire Fair has been strictly enforcing a curfew for young fairgoers this summer.
This is the fourth year that the fair has implemented a curfew for children 17 and younger. The rule says that age group must be with a parent or legal guardian if out past 9 p.m.
“What really prompted it is there’d be a group of ten kids that would run up and down the midway, they’d get to the south, and that ten would would turn to 20, to 40. They’d be running in and out rides and games and people in lines and families with strollers,” Sioux Empire Fair president Scott Wick said.
The curfew has been more strictly enforced this summer, something that has mostly been well-received.
“As far as the young people go, we’ve really been incident free. There’s been a few parents that have kept asking, ‘Well, why? The kids are behaving, and why do we have to stay? Why can’t they just be with an older brother or sister?'” Wick said.
Fairgoer Cassey Watson agrees with the policy.
“I’m pretty glad. I remember being a child once, and it’s been a little while, but honestly, sometimes you do kind of get to maybe being a little mischief and whatnot. Honestly, I don’t have a problem with it,” Watson said.
Watson also says the curfew will make the fair more family-friendly.
“The reason why I come to the fair is because seeing all the animals and the people and the families that come here to bring their loved ones to show the animals. With my family, that’s what I do every year. We come to the fair and try to stick together, obviously, and have a good time,” Watson said.
The fair has worked closely with the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s department to enforce the curfew.
