A place for family fun in Florence this week has now become a place where security is heightened.

As hundreds gather at the Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair, they're also joined with security guards and security equipment.

That's because fair officials are trying to make sure families are enjoying themselves in a safe fairgrounds.

Over the past 53e years Bob Jones has seen a lot of changes in the world and just as many at the Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair.

"Agriculture is down, security is more now, you have a lot of talk about gangs,"  Jones, fair manager, said.

It's a family fair that is now accompanied by metal detectors at the gates along with security wands and guards, Jones said.

"We really had to go through a couple of hoops to get in and I just appreciate that with a three year-old and even with the safety of my whole family," Charles Larrimore said.

"After September 11th everything has changed. Everybody is a lot more security cautious, you're looking at everyone different. People that you used to pass on the street and didn't think anything about now," Jones said.

9/11 is an event Larrimore said will always linger in the background no matter the setting.

"Yeah it's kind of sad, but it's something we have to live with now not just us but all over the world. It's a chaotic place," Larrimore said.

Larrimore said he wishes there wasn't a need for security measures.

"Well yeah, it'd be great, but you know I don't think we'll have a utopia here on this planet. I'd like to have it where we wouldn't feel so scared and threatened," Larrimore said.

Fair officials said they spent several thousand dollars on fair security this year.

They have three security groups patrolling the fairgrounds -- the South Carolina State Guard, security guards out of Sumter, and the Florence County Sheriff's Office.

By Kelly Gillespie - kgillespie@wbtw.com