Pig races, funnel cakes and a human cannonball: The 62nd Greater Baton Rouge State Fair opens today

Bedecked in gold boots and a stars-and-stripes leotard, Tina Miser waves to the gathered crowd as she ascends a large cannon, shimmying down its barrel and out of sight. The countdown begins and Miser braces for the hidden mechanism below to blast her 100 feet into the air. Gliding high as spectators look on, she performs a single layout, falling gracefully on an enormous airbag 20 feet away. She disappears into its pillowy folds and the crowd quiets, waiting for her to reappear. Up she pops, balancing a pageant wave with her Wonder Woman aesthetic.

Likening her to a superhero may not be such a stretch. Miser speculates that fewer than 10 people across the globe share her profession.

“I believe that, at last count, there are about nine human cannonballs in the entire world,” Miser says. “And three of them are me, my husband and one of our daughters.”

Miser and her husband Brian, a veteran human cannonball and the architect of the couple’s 28-foot cannon and its proprietary machinery, will perform daily at this year’s Greater Baton Rouge State Fair, which opens today and runs through Nov. 1. The 62^nd annual 11-day event offers the kind of carny quirkiness expected from state fairs nationwide, from the Miser’s gravity-defying performance to nausea-inducing ‘coasters, funnel cakes and racing swine.

While cautiously optimistic, longtime fair organizer Cliff Barton says he expects strong crowds this year, thanks to an anticipated clear forecast and back-to-back weekends with no LSU home games.

“Our goals are simple,” says Barton, part of an all-volunteer board that organizes the fair. “We want one more person than we had last year, and one more dollar raised.”

The Greater Baton Rouge State Fair is an annual attraction, but it’s also a fundraiser for charitable causes, donating nearly $5 million to local nonprofits that support children, families and local quality of life, Barton says. Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area, the Folds of Honor Foundation, St. Vincent de Paul’s school uniform drive, Opéra Louisiane and many others are among the state fair foundation’s recipients. The organization also awards $500 competitive scholarships to high school students across the Capital Area for volunteer work. Sixty-two students will be recognized this year.

Barton says the fair will feature its usual midway lined with rides and games of chance, live music, expanded livestock shows and numerous kids’ activities. A timed Lego contest invites youth participants to build something from scratch using a random pile of Legos. There’s also a pumpkin-decorating contest, oyster shell painting and a daily magician.

Animal lovers will find plenty to enjoy including expanded livestock shows. And for the first time, Louisiana Snake ID will host educational performances about snakes and their importance to the region’s ecology. The family-run service organization will showcase common snakes and offer tips on how to correctly identify them.

“They’re trying to dispel the myth that all snakes are bad,” Barton says.

The fair’s usual pig races are expanded this year to also include racing goats and ducks, Barton says. There’s also a petting zoo and mutton bustin’ competition, a state fair favorite that sees young competitors hanging onto sprinting sheep for as long as possible.

The Indiana-based Misers, who have toured the country since the early ’90s, are returning to the Greater Baton Rouge State Fair after several years with a four-part Daredevil Show that they perform with friends Nathan and Tatiane Valencia. The show features Brian Miser performing a high fall, Nathan performing a chair-stacking act, and Tatiane, an aerialist, performing the elegant Spanish Web routine. Tina, the human cannonball, is the final act.

Nationwide, state fair food is known for its deep-fried and sugary staples, and that holds true in Louisiana. More than 100 menu items will be on offer, including boudin balls, jambalaya and other Cajun and Creole staples, along with the requisite funnel cakes, deep-fried Oreos, candy apples and bacon on a stick.

The Greater Baton Rouge State Fair runs daily from Oct. 22 through Nov. 1., from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For ticket information, visit the fair’s website.