For the first time since 1986, a parade in downtown Little Rock will mark the start of the annual Arkansas State Fair, as the event marks its 75th anniversary.

Organizers detailed the attractions and entertainment fairgoers can expect this fall, at the Arkansas Livestock Show Association's annual board meeting Friday.

The fair will be held at the State Fairgrounds in Little Rock on Oct. 10 through 19 and will feature a wide array of musical acts, rides and agricultural shows, as well as a buffet of classic and offbeat fair foods -- most of them fried.

The parade will take place the first Saturday of the fair, Oct. 11, will follow the same route as the city's annual holiday parade, and will feature floats, antique cars and other fair highlights.

Also, a fireworks show will cap off the 10-day fair.

Fair manager Ralph Shoptaw said the anniversary warranted a little extra celebration.

"We've been trying to ease our budget up on entertainment every year, but this year we're doing a little more than we normally do because it is our 75th," he said.

Though last year's fair turnout of 445,314 visitors was down from 2012's 447,680, the association ended up with a larger profit after selling a piece of land to the state for $550,000. The group's fair assets were $14,000 in the red after 2012, but 2013 yielded an overall profit of $290,000, according to documents provided at Friday's meeting.

Organizers say they hope to bring in more first-time fairgoers than ever for the fair's diamond anniversary.

Gary Heathcott, president of the fair's advertising agency Heathcott & Associates, said that between performances by REO Speedwagon, George Thorogood, country singer Travis Tritt, and rhythm and blues group Jagged Edge, attendees will be able to find something to their tastes.

"We want country, we want R&B, we want '70s classics -- a combination of all of these so we can appeal to all the different audiences that attend the State Fair," he said. "It's a real jigsaw puzzle."

This year, 56 food vendors will serve up everything from funnel cakes and turkey legs to Cajun-fried ribs, fried peaches and cream, fried lemonade, a bacon-wrapped fried chili dog, and a fried quail "lollipop."

Will Hornburg, the fair's director of sales and promotions, said patrons can also try the "Elvis Dog": a hot dog dressed with peanut butter and banana slices.

"Not sure if you're gonna make it to the end of the fair if you eat too many of those," he said during the meeting.

One part of the fair that will be slightly smaller this year is its livestock market shows. Sherman Lites, fair livestock administrator, said that while about 2,300 cattle, goats, pigs and lambs are set to appear in the market shows, most years only about three-fourths of nominated animals show up, meaning the animal turnout will be down from 2013.

Lites also mentioned ongoing fears about porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, which has not been reported yet in Arkansas herds but has affected hogs in many neighboring states.

Erring on the side of caution, Lites said that 2014's fair will not include a birthing center, and no out-of-state breeding swine will be shown. Otherwise, he said livestock events would not be affected.

"PED virus has not been detected in the state, so unless it is, everything will go as scheduled," Lites said.

Attractions at this year's fair will include gator wrestling, dare-devil high-divers and pig races. A new event called Late Night at Center Stage will let fairgoers take part in a happy hour while listening to Arkansas bands.

Dog-owners not self-conscious about their pets can enter them in an Ugliest Dog in Arkansas contest, while cooks can test their skills in a Fry-for-All fried-food contest.

While the fair will offer a bevy of new attractions, Heathcott said what makes this year special is a focus on its 75-year history -- many of the fair ads Heathcott's agency produced feature newly found historical footage from State Fairs gone by.

Heathcott said he has been a fairgoer since school field trips in the 1960s.

"It was such a different world back then," he said. "The fair back then, you had the bearded lady and you had trapeze acts. ... With a dollar you could get cotton candy, a hot dog, a corn dog, do some of the rides -- for a buck you could get a whole lot of stuff done."

Watching the fair evolve has been a treat itself, he said.

"I have been coming to this fair since I was 7 years old," he said. "Never miss a year."

Metro on 08/09/2014