County’s carnival turns 60

“It’s nice to be around that long,” said Jay Lawrence, who chairs the fair committee for the Comer Lions’ Club.

The fair starts Tuesday and runs through Saturday.

Lawrence hopes the milestone year will draw record numbers. Last fall, over 20,000 patrons attended the event, which has grown into a staple of the county’s social calendar since its inception in the late 1940s.

“We’re shooting for about 25,000,” Lawrence said.

The Comer Lions Club has long coordinated this event. Lawrence even notes that one of the original organizers from 60 years ago, 92-year-old Poke Gholston, is still living in Comer.

“This was when they just made up the games and their own little old deal and we didn’t have any professional thing and they did this on their own,” Lawrence said. “That was 60 years ago.”

Much has changed since that original Madison County fair.

This year’s midway is being billed as the largest ever, while an assortment of musical acts will perform over the course of the five-day carnival. On Tuesday, the Lewis Family takes the stage, “which is always a big draw for us,” Lawrence said, followed by the Holman Autry Band (Wednesday), Big Daddy’s (Thursday), Lizzy Long and Friends (Friday) and The Pritchett Brothers (Saturday), who describe their stylings as funky-country-“blue-grass-jazz-influenced-rockin’-boogie-woogie.”

Agriculture, as always, is one of the centerpieces of the festivities. Highlighting the agriculture schedule are the Northeast Georgia Beef Cattle Show Thursday and the ninth-annual Madison County Open Beef Cattle Show Saturday.

Fair-goers also have the chance to nab an all-terrain utility vehicle this year, with organizers giving away two John Deer “Gators.” One will be awarded Friday and the other Saturday.
The fair opens nightly at 6 p.m., though a matinee is planned for Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

“It kind of draws the young people in,” Lawrence said.

It takes about a year to plan the fair schedule, so that means the Comer Lions’ Club’ time is usually spent tending to fair business.

“It’s year-to-year, we don’t get much rest … We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Lawrence said.

So for now, another year of planning — the 60th year — is in the books.

“It’s just a lot of work,” Lawrence said with a laugh.

NOTES: Gate price is $4 for those 6-and-over. Children under five will be admitted free. Admission to the Saturday matinee is $1 and free for those 15 and under … Those bringing eyeglasses, cell phones and canned food for habitat for humanity will receive a 50-cent reduction in ticket price ... Unlimited midway rides are $15 on Tuesday and Thursday and $18 Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. … Prizes will be given away nightly at 11 p.m. Patrons have to be present to win a prize.