Just days after a big brawl involving minors at the South Florida Fair in Palm Beach County ended in five arrests -- fair leaders are speaking out and promising new rules to keep fairgrounds safe.
The Saturday night fights reportedly began at 9 p.m. until the fair closed for the night at the South Florida Fairgrounds, according to a spokesperson with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
It involved about 200 people who were hostile and unruly, spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.
A similar event in 2023 ended with in four arrests and dozens kicked out. An original curfew targeting teens went into effect in 2022. The rule stated that no one under the age of 18 was allowed after 8 p.m. without a guardian on Fridays and Saturdays.
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Victoria Chouris, the fair's president and CEO, says the curfew time will now be pushed to 7 p.m.
Teens, after that time, will need to purchase a ride wristband at the gate, to ensure they are at the fair to actually enjoy the attractions.
"This event is here for fun. It's for people to be able to come and enjoy what they have here. My message is don't come," Chouris said. "Don't come to the fair and try to cause trouble. Don't ruin it for the rest of the families that are here."
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Also following Saturday night's incident, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says it plans to increase deputies at the fairgrounds. They currently have at least 150 monitoring the fairgrounds.
"That is a lot of deputies," Chouris said. "You know, we have more deputies on these fairgrounds on a weekend night than there are probably throughout the county, so, yes, we are going to increase that because it's not fair to them to have to deal with this kind of thing during the fair."
