Tulsa State Fair Wraps Closes As Vendors, Deputies Reflect On This Year's Event

The Tulsa State Fair has wrapped up, with vendors packing up and Tulsa County deputies reporting less crime compared to previous years.

Deputies attribute the decrease in crime to stronger staffing, with as many as 60 deputies patrolling the fairgrounds during the busiest nights.

Captain Mike Moore, the fair commander, said there were around 40 arrests, mostly involving juveniles. The most serious incident was an 18-year-old stabbing someone during a fight the first weekend.

“You have that many people in one area for that length of time, and you add juveniles into the mix, some things like that are going to happen,” Moore said.

Moore noted the success of new technology like robotic dogs and facial recognition cameras, which helped prevent and solve crimes.

Deputies will continue exploring ways to enhance security for next year’s event.

Meanwhile, vendors at the fair reported mixed results. Michael Roark, one of the vendors, said his sales were down this year.

“Sales were down as opposed to last year, but we’ve noticed that across the board at most of the festivals we’ve done this year,” Roark said.

After working the Oklahoma State Fair and Tulsa State Fair back-to-back, Roark said he’s ready for a break.

“We do get a few weeks off to recover, restock, maybe take a little vacation, see our kids,” he said.

Next up at the Tulsa fairgrounds is the Arabian and Half-Arabian Nationals, with setup starting this week. Some vendors from the fair will head to their next stop in Little Rock.