By admin 
The S.C. State Fair is facing pushback online for its admission policy for children under 18.
Read more US Senate hopeful Andrews touts some GOP voter support ahead of SC Trump stop
People are sharing stories of being denied entry when trying to take children into the fair because a fair policy requires that children be accompanied by a parent. Not just any parent or adult, but the child’s parent.
The policy applies to fair admissions after 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and all day Friday and Saturday, according to rules posted on the state fair’s website. That’s led to at least some people saying they were turned away with groups of children they aren’t directly related to.
State Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine, D-Richland, even posted about the policy on Facebook after she said she was contacted by several people about issues over the fair’s first weekend since it opened in Columbia Oct. 15.
“I understand the need to keep patrons safe but if the policies are discriminatory in practice, the leadership needs to know and address it,” Devine wrote, since some of those turned away have reportedly been mixed race or blended families.
Fair security director Matt La Schuma said the policy has been in place since 2024, but previously visitors expressed confusion about whether it meant minors could only be admitted with their parent or a parent.
This year, “We made clear what we wanted,” La Schuma said. “We wanted to specify and make incredibly clear with their parent.”
Read more NASCAR Hall of Famer diagnosed with CTE, first known case in racecar driver
The policy was inspired by past incidents with unaccompanied minors at the fair and other events that created a safety concern, La Schuma said, and limiting the policy to parents lets ticket-takers at the gate more easily check IDs.
But La Schuma acknowledged not every family will fit into the same profile.
“Because South Carolina is diverse, there are exceptions for blended and foster families, and for someone who maybe lost their mother or father early, so our supervisors at the gate can make an exception,” he said.
But fairgoers at the gate don’t always ask for a supervisor, and La Schuma said the fair is investigating some complaints about people not being able to get children into the fair.
He encouraged visitors to check the policies on the fair’s website before they make the trip to know what’s required for entry. The state fair continues through Oct. 25.
“We had it released in July and it’s on the website, but there’s a lot of misinformation going around on social media,” La Schuma said.
Read more Why is a Missouri senator on the campaign trail in Kansas with Trump?