BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor State Fair has offered its share of unique attractions in its long and storied history dating back to 1849, but the 2016 event will feature something rarely seen in northern New England.
For the first time, the fair will feature an alligator show courtesy of Jimmy Riffle of Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys.”
Riffle and his team will hold two performances on weekdays and three weekend performances during the fair’s 10-day run, which begins Friday at 2 p.m. and continues through Aug. 7.
The “Scales, Tails and Teeth” attraction will give fairgoers an up-close-and-personal look at nine-foot alligators.
Riffle, an alligator handler based out of South Florida, said he hopes the shows will change the public’s perception of the toothy reptiles.
“A lot of people, just because it doesn’t have fur, no one really wants to get to know them and respect them, but that’s one of our missions,” he said, “to show alligators aren’t what people say they are, to get up close and personal with these little guys. You’ll have a chance to do that at the fair.”
Fairgoers will even get to hold a small, baby alligator for a small, undisclosed donation. Riffle said the public will not be taught how to wrestle with the reptiles.
“Even places that gators are found, a lot of people don’t get to see them up close and personal,” he explained. “Here, you get to be within 10 feet of a nine-foot alligator.”
Riffle said the alligators featured in the show were caught out of people’s backyards in Florida, and will be subsequently donated to zoos and sanctuaries following the show.
The alligator show is one of many new attractions at the fair this year, including the Nerveless Knocks thrill circus, a Mega Trucks show featuring a large monster truck, and Cross Insurance Center events such as a comedy show featuring Ron White on Saturday, a mixed martial arts event on Aug. 5 and the Central Maine Roller Derby on Aug. 6.
“This year, we’ve mixed in the Cross Insurance Center a little more,” said Spectra Venue Management General Manager Joe Imbriaco.
Of course, the fair will also feature the traditional midway rides and games, plenty of fried food options, a beer garden, a Demolition Derby and Old MacDonald’s Farm.
Imbriaco noted that tickets for Cross Insurance Center events, with the exception of the roller derby, must be purchased separately from fair admission, which is $12 per person.
Children age 3 and under are admitted free, and senior and military days are scheduled for Aug. 3-5, in which seniors and military personnel will be admitted for $7.
