The WannaBeatles, an award-winning Beatles tribute band, are the featured entertainment at AngelFest in downtown Sewanee, Tenn., on Friday night.Folks who love to bake, sew and grow will vie for blue-ribbon bragging rights when the Hamilton County Fair is held Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 27-28, at Chester Frost Park.
This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of the Chester Frost Park fair. Baby boomers may remember county fairs held in Warner Park from 1945 to 1969 where a swing band played on the bandstand nightly and a small midway offered rides and carnival games. That was actually the second incarnation of a Hamilton County Fair in Warner Park - the first one launching in 1915 and ending in the early 1920s, according to Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department history.
The fair moved to a tract of land at the intersection of Bonny Oaks and Hickory Valley Road from 1970 to 1974 before the Chattanooga Jaycees hosted the event from 1976 to 1982 on property off Amnicola Highway. The county fair wasn't held again until 1990, a one-day event in Chester Frost Park. However, the popularity of its old-fashioned family entertainment resulted in continued growth until it became the two-day event it is now with crowds averaging more than 50,000 a weekend.
This county fair offers more than 100 agricultural, livestock and home-centered categories of competition, according to Maureen Davis, recreation programming specialist for Hamilton County Parks and Recreation. It's a chance for city slickers to get up close to cows, horses, pigs and rabbits, see the county's biggest watermelon or talk with farmers about their field crops.
In honor of the fair's silver anniversary, an anniversary challenge has been added in home-centered categories. Competitors must use their medium to create either something visitors see at the fair, a favorite fair memory or use the number 25 in an unusual way. Challenge winners will be awarded a special ribbon custom-designed for this year's fair, Davis says.
There will be three stages of talent along with an agricultural arena featuring dog and equine demonstrations. The aroma of funnel cakes and kettle corn will lure visitors to the Dallas Island Stage, where musical acts entertain right in the middle the 30 vendors on Concession Row.
For children, there's old-fashioned fun such as sack races in the Kids Fun Zone as well as newer thrills such as a bungee jump. Add to this a Chattanooga Area Model Railroad Club layout with more than 350 feet of track, an antique auto show and more than 50 crafts vendors, and there's something for everyone in the family.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timefreepress.com or 423-757-6284.
OTHER FESTIVALS OPENING THIS WEEKEND
SEPT. 26-28
• AngelFest: Downtown Sewanee, Tenn., gates open 4 p.m. CDT Friday, free, family treasure hunt, kids activities and performance by The WannaBeatles at 7:30 p.m. 866-334-2954.
• Candler Park Fall Fest: Candler Park, corner of McLendon Avenue and Candler Park Drive, Atlanta, noon-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, free; tour of homes noon-6 p.m. Saturday. fallfest.candlerpark.org.
• Community Festival Day: Carver Youth and Development Center, 600 N. Orchard Ave., noon-7 p.m. Saturday, free ($25 for vendor booths); family games, inflatables and live entertainment for residents of East Chattanooga and surrounding neighborhoods. 423-364-1697.
• Fall Heritage Festival & Old Timers Day: Townsend Visitors Center, 7906 Lamar Alexander Parkway, Townsend, Tenn., 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, free admission, $8 parking. 865-273-1257.
• 41A Music and Arts Festival: North Atlanta and Grundy streets, downtown Tullahoma, Tenn., 6-11 p.m. CDT Friday, noon-11:30 p.m. CDT Saturday, free. facebook.com/41A-music-festival.
• Harvest at the Homestead: Red Top Mountain State Park, 50 Lodge Road, Cartersville, Ga., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, free admission, $5 parking. 770-975-0055.
• Homestead Apple Festival: Homestead Tower Museum, junction of Highways 127 and 68, four miles south of Crossville, Tenn., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. CDT Saturday-Sunday, $5 ages 16 and older. 931-456-9663.
• Riverfest Arts and Crafts Festival: Boling Park, 1200 Marietta Highway, Canton, Ga., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, $5 ages 12 and older. serviceleague.net/riverfest.
• Rock Spring Show and Sale: Rock Spring United Methodist Church, Highway 95 and Peavine Road, Rock Spring, Ga., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, free. 706-764-1404.
• Tennessee Craft Fall Fair: Lawn of the Parthenon, Nashville, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. CDT Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. CDT Sunday, free, fine arts show sponsored by nonprofit formerly known as Tennessee Association of Craft Artists. tennesseecraft.org.
SEPT. 26-OCT. 5
• Georgia State Fair: Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1500 Tara Place, Hampton, Ga., gates open at 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. Saturdays, noon Sundays, $10 adults, $5 ages 5-12 and 60 and older, $20 ride wristbands. georgiastatefair.org.
SEPT. 27-OCT. 25
• Rotary Club Craft Fair: Patriot Park, Pigeon Forge, Tenn., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, free. 865-909-3446.