FAIR thee well at the South’s festivals

For two weeks every October, the Sirens’ call of the Cumming Country Fair draws our family, friends and neighbors up Georgia 400 to the gates of the Cumming Fairgrounds for a few hours of good, old-fashioned fun.  But with all of the recent rain and our jam-packed schedules, I’m afraid time is running out for us to make it there this year.

The fair will pack up and move on after its grand finale on Sunday, October 18^th, and we have yet to find a rain-free, softball/tennis/gymnastics/scouts-free day to go. (Fingers crossed this weekend turns out sunny.)

My entire family loves a good fair. My husband and kids are all about the carnival rides and the games. I’m all about the caramel apples and funnel cakes. But in the end, the agricultural and historical exhibits are what really make country and state fairs special to me. Not only do they remind me of a simpler – but much more difficult – time, they also never fail to make me appreciate the lives we enjoy today.

And they usually make for great conversations on the way home: From “Those little chicks were so soft. Can we raise our own chickens in the back yard?” and “What happens to the chicks when they grow up?” (Ummm…) to “Why can’t we grow the state’s largest rutabaga?”

I grew up on a small farm, and I know well how the fascination with “cute little chicks” easily gives way to disinterest the minute they turn into regular ol’ chickens. I also know that my children wouldn’t touch – let alone eat – a rutabaga, even if it was the largest in the state and even if we managed to grow it ourselves.

Still, for a few hours, it’s pretty to think of our agricultural heritage and share in some old-fashioned fun. So if the weather continues to rain on our parade, we will have to drive a little farther to get our fair fix this year. There are plenty of state and country fairs, as well as apple festivals with many of the same attractions, from which to choose this time of year.  Here are a few…

• The Georgia National Fair runs through Sunday, October 18 at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry, Ga.  The Mississippi State Fair also wraps-up its festivities in Jackson on Sunday.
• The 10-day North Carolina State Fair begins tomorrow at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, and ends on the 25^th of October. South Carolina’s State Fair starts today at the Fairgrounds in Columbia and also ends on the 25^th.     
• The Greater Gulf State Fair in Mobile, Ala. begins on October 23 and runs through the November 1^st. 
• Ellijay’s Georgia Apple Festival will be in full-swing this weekend (October 17-18), overlapping with Hillcrest Orchards’ month-long Apple Pickin’ Jubilee (weekends throughout October in Ellijay).     
• Down on the coast, the Coastal Empire Fair in Savannah serves up all the fair-fare you could want from October 29 – November 8.

Are you planning to attend (or have you attended) one of the region’s state or country fairs this year? What draws you to the fair? Do you go for the day, or do you overnight and make it a weekend getaway? Do harvest or apple festivals lure you to take a trip too? What are some of your favorite festivals or fairs in the South?