Or, perhaps you just remember the catchy song from the commercials.
"Be there, the fair!" is implanted into every Miami kid's brain like a microchip, and the sleeper agents are activated annually when the Fair rolls into town from mid-March through early April. This year is no different, and organizers are nodding to the nostalgia the Fair elicits with a Retro Rewind theme. Among the offerings is a spate of tribute acts performing music across the decades, from Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, Donna Summer, Madonna, and Taylor Swift. You can also snag a pretty nifty, themed souvenir cup for reduced soda refills.
In the spirit of Retro Rewind, we've rounded up a sampling of the Fair's classic commercials. Millennials will recognize the surf-rock riffs of the 1996 iteration, with its familiar refrain remaining in all subsequent versions.@miamiyouthfair Our Limited Edition Retro Rewind souvenir cups are set to be the next addition to your cup collection! Get yours at the 2025 Youth Fair or bring a cup from a previous year and enjoy $4 refills.
♬ original sound - The Youth Fair
The '90s Guitar Version
Grainy footage of rollercoasters, old-timey variety shows, smoking sausages, and a petting zoo bunny is set to the infectious '90s version of the Fair's theme song. A verse — "Take your family/Go with your friends/To good times/Where fun never ends" — precedes a pre-chorus and explosive chorus as we watch the attractions shift from daytime to nighttime. In this commercial, the Fair opens March 14, the same date it opens this year.The Salsa Version
You won't find an extended guitar intro in this version dating back to 2004. You will, however, find an infomercial couple who appears to have taken dance lessons to sell this salsa-fied version of the Fair's theme song. "Wow!" they both exclaim after the performer sings, "There's music and shows and thrills everywhere." This is a quick spot, but there's a lot going on: more grainy footage of bright rides, the shadowy silhouette of a person attempting to dance salsa (but mostly just spinning around in circles like a nine-year-old after too many elephant ears), an over-the-shoulder shimmy from the blonde woman in the aforementioned couple, a random brunette lipsyncing to the song, and a final shot of her and another guy running off with prize stuffed animals.The Other Salsa Version
This 2008 commercial features familiar footage of rides, food, and variety shows, but it also contains one major change: A voiceover precedes the theme song. This time, the tune retains elements of the '90s rock version (the lyrics and melody) as well as the 2004 iteration (the salsa arrangement, albeit with livelier horns and a new singer).The Version We Know Today
This slick commercial features closeups of children enjoying the Fair's many thrills, with one particularly enthusiastic child chomping on a corndog for the camera. The graphics allude to last year's "Space Venture" theme, with the voiceover listing rhyming attractions: "Painted faces/Pig races/Pizza pies/ Sky rides." The ad is also the first to court adults more overtly (in the corresponding rhyme scheme, of course): "Ice-cream swirl/Tilt-a-whirl/Cows, steer/Ice-cold beer."The Miami-Dade County Youth Fair. 4 p.m. Thursday, March 14, through Sunday, April 6, at Tamiami Park, 10901 Coral Way, Miami; 305-223-7060. Tickets cost $14 via fairexpo.com.
