The Georgia National Fair

Where can you find arts and crafts, muscle men, cows, llamas, camels, funnel cakes and ferris wheels all in the same place? The Georgia National Fair, that's where!


This past weekend I went to the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga. It was a blast! This fair comes every October and stays for about two weeks. There's always tons to do here and there's certainly never a dull moment.

I was fortunate enough to meet up with my parents while I was there. They are annual fair-goers without fail. This is my my mom and me having a great time on a ride!

One event that was a first for me was Robinson's Racing Pigs. While it may not exactly be considered kosher to animal rights activists, it was still pretty funny. The pigs even had comical names like "Hammy Faye Bacon" and "Brittney Sparerib." I've never seen a pig up close and have certainly never seen one run so fast or swim for that matter. Check out the video I took. If you've never experienced anything like it, you can think of it as kind of like a dog race except with pigs and instead of chasing a motorized rabbit around the track, the pigs race for Oreo Cookies. Don't worry the loser still gets a few Oreo crumbs.

Without fail, there is always something at the fair that will ensure a good laugh or at least an awkward/creepy moment. This year was not a disappointment.

It would have been the ferris wheel operator screaming at the crowd about his track record of not having killed anybody thus far, but there was something a bit more disturbing than even that. It was a remote control, tricycle-riding, robot monkey. It even had speakers attached and a moving mouth. Someone hiding nearby in the crowd was the operator and had a microphone so they could see you and talk to you through the monkey. Talk about living vicariously through someone else. As we tried to get pictures of it, I guess it felt its personal space was being invaded because it started in on us, asking questions, making accusations and overall being totally creepy!

For many, fairs are not just about livestock or even rides and games. There seems to be a cult following for the food only found at the fair. Whether you have a major sweet tooth and love things like funnel cakes and deep fried candy bars or if you prefer sausages and blooming onions, it was definitely not in short supply at the fair. I'm not such a big fan of "fair food" but nothing else reminds me more of the fair than the smells created by these delicacies.

From llama beauty pageants to freak shows to quilting exhibitions, there was never a short supply of things to do. The Georgia National Fair literally has something for everyone. The night even ended with a laser show and fireworks, which is always a plus in my opinion. Having gotten my fix for another year I headed back to Athens satisfied and happy.