The annual Cumming Country Fair and Festival is a time-honored tradition enjoyed by families, couples and friends alike. From Oct. 5-15, anyone was welcome to visit the Cumming Fairgrounds for a day or night to remember.
Each day, there was a different discount for attendees. For example, seniors Abby Yang and Jaucqir Lafond attended the fair on Student Night, which allowed all children who are 18 and under to enter free of charge. Senior Suzanne Godard, who has attended the Cumming Fair every fall since she can remember said, “We always strategize and attend the fair when we can enjoy the best deal; this year we woke up early for free admission and unlimited rides.”
Along with a daily discount, the fair also offers a new temporary attraction each day. On Oct. 6, country singer Kellie Pickler held a concert on the fairgrounds sponsored by Kicks 101.5 FM radio station. The Miss Cumming Fair pageant was held on Oct. 7 and was open to girls of all ages.
Eighth grade student Lindsay Godard said, “I watched some the Miss Cumming Fair pageant, which was awesome. It’s pretty entertaining to watch all the girls do their hair and makeup in cluttered fair bathrooms, drag their super fancy gowns through the dirt and parade around the fairgrounds in their huge crowns after winning.”
To accompany the overall discounts and one-day select attractions offered by the Cumming Fair, there were also daily sideshows and vendors booths available to guests. Kristina Johnson, more commonly known as Lady Houdini, held two or three shows each day. She is a world-famous escape artist and currently the only person performing full-view water torture chamber escapes. “Lady Houdini was spectacular. I wasn’t prepared to be actually terrified that she would drown, nor was I prepared for the caliber of a seemingly amateur production,” said Lafond.
Visitors could attend the North Georgia petting zoo, Lisa Dufresne’s horse show, a Firemen High Dive Show, Peter Hart’s puppet show, Brian Ruth’s chainsaw carving booth and many more family friendly attractions. Eighth grade student Naomi Niemann said, “The firemen were hilarious, and their dives were also extraordinary.” Senior Isabella Brown said, “We of course went into the petting zoo because that is my favorite part of the fair. I love holding the baby bunnies and seeing the baby goats.”
If guests are not interested in simply watching an event, there were plenty of hands-on options for adults and children to enjoy. There were the classic carnival-style games for all ages with prizes such as jumbo stuffed animals or a pet goldfish. Brown loves bringing home new pet fish every year. Attendees could try their nerves at a Wacky Wire game, their skills at a Ping Pong Toss game or any other typical carnival game.
Lindsay Godard said, “I don’t really play the carnival games because I have a theory that they’re all rigged, but I was very tempted to try a few, especially the basketball games.”
If games were still not exciting enough for visitors, there were dozens of soothing to thrilling rides to choose from. The children’s roller coasters and pony rides satisfied the family-friendly atmosphere Cumming always attempts to create, but the more extreme participants were not subsequently left out. Mantis, Himalaya and the ‘Cuda ride were more intense options for the thrill-seeking guest.
Lindsay Godard said her favorite ride was “the new California Surfer ride, which is a more thrilling version of the X-Factory, an old ride.” Rappe, Brown and sixth grade student Katherine Marshall prefer Himalaya “where you got to go really fast in a cart/chair while ‘snow’ was falling on you.”
Guests could slow it down a bit on the sky buckets or Ferris wheel, which are the perfect rides to view the entirety of the fair. All types of visitors seemed to cherish the quiet escape from the chaos on the ground and opportunity to spend some quality time with their friends or significant other.
If the rides did not cause too much queasiness, the next stop was generally the food booths. Carnival food is a staple of any fair experience. Lindsay Godard said, “You can never go wrong with a classic funnel cake.” Fairgoers smelled stands of candy apples, funnel cakes and corn dogs around practically every turn. Lafond said, “Deep fried Oreos are the best carnival food in invention. It is hard to explain their crispy, gooey, yummy majesty.”
Next year, the Cumming Fair will come and go once more, but each experience is unique in itself. Marshall, Lindsay Godard and Brown “will definitely return next year.”
