Georgia National Fair Kicks Off in Perry

PERRY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The smell of turkey legs, cotton candy and funnel cakes fills the air at the fairgrounds in Perry, as Governor Nathan Deal officially kicked off the 23rd Annual Georgia National Fair Thursday afternoon.

Linda Jones from Newnan has worked at the fair every year of it’s existence…and she says people always come back.

“The first thing I ask people about it as they come in is ‘where are you from?’ and ‘Did you come here just for the fair’,” Jones says, and people almost always say “Yes.”

It takes hundreds of workers and man-hours to put on an event like this, according to Fair Coordinator Michele Treptow. “It takes 75 of us year-round working on it; there’s a lot of temporary employment that starts in early August to mid-August,” Treptow tells 41NBC.

The main thing fair organizers want is for you to just come and have a good time.

Governor Nathan Deal attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony to a medium-sized crowd. That’s because everybody else was already out and enjoying the rides and the fair food.

“It only happens once a year, you have 11 days to come out here, experience all the sights, sounds and splendor that a fair is,” Treptow says.

41NBC spoke to people from all over the Peach State and around the country, who come every year to Perry to enjoy this Peach State tradition.

The fair runs until October 13th. Saturday, October 6th, country stars Kellie Pickler and Joe Nichols will perform and the following Saturday, the band Hot Chelle Rae will be in town. For ticket information and for more on the fair, visit georgianationalfair.com.