Visiting the Georgia Mountain Fair

Amaira Barrett – Miss Georgia Mountain Fair 2016

Hiawassee is in the middle of hosting the 66th Annual Georgia Mountain Fair until Saturday evening July 23rd.  The Towns County Lions Club started it in 1950.  The Lions Club had two goals in mind, showcasing North Georgia traditions and raising money to go back into the community.

The sights at the Georgia Mountain Fair still hold to that tradition. Part of the fair is in the Pioneer Village.  Alongside buildings and equipment from time past, is music, demonstrations and locally made honey, hominy and syrup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is music throughout the day.  From groups at the small stages scattered throughout the park to the big evening shows in the music hall starting at 8 pm.  The Creekside Country Strings was playing on Wednesday afternoon.  When asked why they like coming here, band member Red Lambert said, “We knew you were coming and we came to entertain you.”  One band member and his wife have been going to the fair for 23 years.

 

 

 

The fair used to have livestock expositions.  The only livestock here now are two alpacas and the cow that FYN pup reporter Joseph milked.

 

 

 

 

 

The fair still has arts and crafts displays.  The vendors are local and regional.  For the most part, the items for sale still reflect the fair’s goal of showcasing North Georgia traditions and culture.

Sam Reine, out of Blairsville likes the fair “becasue it gives the community opportunity for great entertainment and great crafts.  Everything is unique.”

 

 

 

Janice Clayton, out of Ellijay, loves the atmosphere here.  She appreciates that customers have a shaded walk as they pass by the stalls and that vendors don’t have to have tents.

In conversation after conversation, people talk about the years they have been attending the fair.  Miss Georgia Mountain Fair, Amaira Barrett, is a senior at Towns County High School.  She has been going to the fair her whole life.  Miss Barrett states, “I am happy to be part of something that has so much sentimental value for me.”

The sentimental value is clear in the Towns County Lions Club members which volunteer staff the fair.

Danny Burch has been volunteering at the fair for 16 years.  He explains some of the work the Lions Club does in Towns County and around the world.  Funds from the fair go to help with eye care for local residents.  Some money also goes to the Georgia State Camp for the Blind. Abroad, the Lions Club helps pay for cataract surgery for people who can’t afford it.  “Just think,” says Mr. Burch, “cateract surgery only takes one hour.  A person who walked in nearly blind will walk out being able to see. We take for granted that all people have all these things, but people in other parts of the world don’t have access.”

 

 

Towns County Lions Club members James Webb and Deborah Saylor have been volunteering for 19 and seven years, respectively. The Lions Club food booths at the fairgrounds are another way the club raises money. The club also provides other types of community support for Towns County.

Even the summer RV’s at the Fairgrounds Campground are long time fair volunteers.  According to Assistant Manage Janice Graves, people come up to camp for the summer and helping out with the fair is part of their summer holiday.

 

 

To top off the fair, especially for those 10 and under is the mid-way.  This year there are around 14 rides.

Tickets for the fair are $12, free for kids under 12.  The tickets buy entrance into the day’s music events, Pioneer Village and vendor area.  For the rides, you can buy individual tickets or pay $20 for an armband.  Each ride takes 3-5 tickets ($3-$5). Bring cash to pay for the tickets.

Bring your old glasses and hearing aids as well and donate to the Lions Club.  They will refurbish the glasses and hearing aids and give them to people in need.

Going through the fairgrounds and the mid-way takes about half a day.  If you want to stay for the big music shows, you need a whole day.

The fair runs through July 23rd.  The entrance to the fairgrounds is on Hwy. 76 in Hiawassee.