After 50 years without a fair, the Walker County Fair is making a comeback.
“People have been asking me since I took office, ‘Why can’t we have a fair?'” said Walker County Sole Commissioner Bebe Heiskell. “Fairs have traditionally been part of counties and cities.”
Transit buses from Rossville, Chickamauga and LaFayette will bring people to the event Sept. 12-14.
Admission is $5 per person, with children age 3 and under free. People are asked to bring their own chairs or blankets. In addition to amusement rides and games, there will be plenty of entertainment, including an antique tractor show.
As a high school student, Heiskell recalls attending the Hamilton County Fair in Warner Park.
“I thought it was a lot of fun,” she said. “I liked going to the tents with the rabbits and chickens and to the hog show and a horse show.”
Those who attend the Walker County Fair can visit the livestock barn for a lamb, goat, chicken, beef heifer and steer show. Little Darlings Alpaca Farm will spin wool on-site.
“We will have judges for the bake-off and canning and jellies in the Manor House,” said Heiskell. “They will give out first-, second-, and third-prize ribbons. A horticulture show will have fresh tomatoes, corn and flowers in the pavilion. Entertainment will be in the barn featuring the Fairest of the Fair, a beauty competition put on by the Battlefield Pilot Club. They will have talent contests with vocal, instrumental and dance inside the Show Barn.”
Outside, the Gravel Road Band, Fletcher Bright’s bluegrass band the Dismembered Tennesseans, the North Ridge Band and Dennis Brown and Ted Scoggins will perform. The Cowboy Church Praise Team will also sing.
Arts and crafts like jewelry, handcrafts, woodcarvings and scarves will be sold. In addition to all the festival food one would expect, dinner will be served at the Manor House Restaurant.
“We will have a beautiful fireworks show on Saturday night,” said Heiskell. “We are getting good sponsorships from Coca-Cola for the outdoor stage and from the Bank of LaFayette. The Bank of LaFayette will collect tickets and money with their tellers. The Bank of LaFayette will sponsor the Dismembered Tennesseans too.”
While this year’s event was planned in five months’ time, preparations are already underway for next year.
“For people to enjoy the cove, we need to have events,” Heiskell said, adding that there is a farmers market on Sundays from 1-3 p.m. in the pavilion. “We are excited to host the fair at Mountain Cove Farms. This is an event we hope will continue to grow year after year in Walker County.”
To learn more about the fair, contact Joan Fowler at j.fowler@walkerga.us or 706-638-1437.