GREEN COVE SPRINGS — As carnival rides were being erected in the background, officials provided a final update Friday, March 28, ahead of the Clay County Agricultural Fair's opening day.

Deggeller Attractions announced the creation of a Fast Pass, allowing fairgoers to jump to the front of the lines. Fair executive director Tasha Hyder and Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook reminded everyone to "Pack your patience" because traffic along State Road 16 will be slow during peak periods.

The fair will open on Thursday, April 3, at 2 p.m. and run for 11 days at the fairgrounds at 2463 State Road 16. A year ago, it attracted a record attendance of 170,000 people, but some delays were getting into the parking lot.

“The Clay County Fair is Clay County’s Super Bowl,” Cook said. “It is the county's busiest days that draw the most people. We take the safety and security of the fair extremely seriously. We've set up an incident management team, and the team has been meeting since January to talk about things such as site setup, security, traffic, parking, weather conditions, contingency planning and all of that. I'm confident that it is going to be a successful event.

“First of all, we are going to have traffic. Expect traffic delays. Expect heavy traffic between the 3rd and the 13th of April. We are doing our best to get people in here and parked. Over those 11 days, we are bringing approximately 170,000 people into these fairgrounds using a two-lane road, so expect traffic.”

Cook also said her agency will have sufficient uniformed and undercover deputies on the fairgrounds.

According to Kayla Sellers of Clay County Emergency Management, fairgoers should carpool, visit claycountyfair.org to see current traffic conditions and be aware of peak times, such as Friday nights, Saturdays and before concerts.

Andy Deggeller, the CEO of the amusement company, said the park will have three new rides and a different layout. He also said anyone who wants to ride many rides can upgrade their ticket with a Fast Pass.

“They can take advantage of it when the lines are long, and it will help them enjoy themselves that much more,” he said. “The upgrade of the Fast Passes are $15 on weekdays and $20 on weekends.”

Deggeller said the new rides won’t take riders upside-down; however, “I would recommend not eating a big funnel cake before you get on one. They are exciting.”

Cook and Hyder also reminded all fairgoers to download the free app SaferWatch to receive traffic, weather and additional safety-related updates.