Historic Georgia Mountain Fair enjoys another successful year

“I just want to say a big thank you to all the people that came out and took part in the 75th Anniversary Celebration and all the people that worked to help make it possible,” Thomason stated.

James Blalock and Robert Garrett were just some of the hands up at the Pioneer Village showing fairgoers how mountain folk used to make their living. Blalock, with the help of his son and a shaving horse, was splitting shingles of cedar and red oak.

Blalock himself was a regular of the Georgia Mountain Fair even before he started doing demonstrations. He can remember camping out with his wife and daughter near the ballfield and watching performers like Dottie West under the old tent.

“I love (the Fair), and I love being here because I love this work,” Blalock admitted warmly, showing off a custom-made froe, an instrument used specifically for cutting shingles. His friend, a blacksmith, constructed the blade, and Blalock, an experienced woodworker, shaped the handle.

Garrett, meanwhile, worked beside the Blalocks, crafting grits and cornmeal among other “old-timey” delicacies. On the last Saturday of the Fair, he braved the heat and a swarm of interested yellowjackets to produce some homemade cider.

“I really like seeing it take place,” Garrett said of his own task, using a log to press the juice out of apples he had just pulverized. He sees the value in creating one’s own food and drink by hand and even does so at home by growing his own corn and using an electric grist mill to grind meal.

In a nearby booth, Denise Macrae was selling Nectar of the Vine wine and mocktail slushie mixes. As a Navy veteran and recent retiree from a federal job, she wanted an opportunity to meet people and see the country. It was her first time at the Georgia Mountain Fair, and she maintained a soaring opinion all the way through both weekends.

“Everybody’s been nice,” Macrae said, divulging that she was considering asking the rest of her family to return with her for a vacation in Appalachia. “Even the mountain air – you breathe better.”

It was also Meredith England’s first time visiting the Fair, but her niece Alex was happy to keep her company. Alex, with her mouth stained blue, was particularly fond of the cotton candy and carnival rides. For her part, Meredith enjoyed the Exhibit Hall, particularly the vintage toy collection and antique farm equipment.

Mother-daughter duo Deborah Puckett and Julie Overlin were enjoying a time-honored tradition of funnel cake with an added dash of strawberries. Both were well-acquainted with the Georgia Mountain Fair, and Puckett in particular had fond memories of past seasons.

“I remember a year they had the big tent, and there came a rain – I’m talking torrential rain – and people’s shoes were everywhere, because it was so muddy and we lost shoes,” Puckett recalled, adding that for her, the Georgia Mountain Fair marked the transition from summer to fall.

Ron Ellis, a worker with Amusements of America, plans to retire soon to spend more time with his family. That said, this was not the first time he had visited a historical fair; he was also part of a 100th anniversary celebration at another venue.

“(The Georgia Mountain Fair) is home … memories, nostalgia,” said Elizabeth Edwards, sharing that it was “beautiful” to be able to watch her grandchildren enjoy the Fair as much as her own children did, and herself before them.

Edwards and her husband William ensured a three-generation family outing to the Fairgrounds this year, including their daughters, Rachel and Amber, along with their two grandsons. The family’s history with the Georgia Mountain Fair goes back even further, with Edwards noting that her parents’ first date was at the Fair.

“It’s crazy, wild – 75 years,” Edwards said fondly, looking forward to many more.