The 4-H kids are tending to their animals and practicing their show skills. Gardeners are cultivating their prettiest blooms or largest pumpkin. School children are drawing, coloring and creating all manners of arts and crafts. Folks are in their kitchens pickling and canning. Bakers are testing their best cake and pie recipes.
“Country is in the air” and the 69th Macon County Fair is approaching. The fair will open Sept. 21 and run through Sept. 24 at the Macon County Fairgrounds on Georgia Road. If you plan on entering your artwork, craft, fruit and vegetables, canned goods or flowers, you’ve got a little less than a month to prepare.
N.C. Cooperative Extension Agriculture Agent Joe Deal has been working with youth in a series of clinics this summer to help them prepare for showing their animals. He said they have learned about animal care, feeding, grooming, exercising, show etiquette and showmanship.
The Macon County Fair is one of the oldest agricultural fairs in the state. When county leaders began talking about a fair in 1953, they were told it would not be successful without a midway or carnival rides. There have been changes over the years, but the addition of carnival rides is not one of those changes. The fair remains a way to showcase the county’s agricultural heritage and farming families.
One of the changes this year is the addition of a Best Pie contest along with the traditional Best Cake contest. The cakes and pies will be auctioned off after the judging on Saturday, Sept. 24.
“There is country in the air” is the theme of this year’s fair, which will open to the public on Wednesday, Sept. 21 with a ceremony at 1 p.m. On Friday night, Sept. 23, there will be a barbecue dinner beginning at 3 p.m. to support the fair. “We’d love for everybody to come out to the barbecue on Friday, it’s one of our biggest fundraisers,” said Fair co-chair Dennis Conley. “We look forward to seeing everybody.”
During the four-day fair there will be a variety of animal shows and auctions, a kids pedal tractor pull contest, a tractor driving contest, the best pie and best cake contest, community exhibits and local businesses demonstrating their goods and services.
Fair entries will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Categories (youth and adult) include Art and Photography, Baked Goods, Clothing, Crafts, Farm Products, Flowers, Food Preservation items, House Furnishings, Needlecraft, Handweaving and Spinning items, Poultry and Rabbits. The rules for each category can be found on the Cooperative Extension website or in the fair catalog, which will be published in the Sept. 7 edition of The Franklin Press.
For people interested in canning and entering something in the fair, the Cooperative Extension has been offering food preservation classes this summer. The last class will be Sept 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. The class will include a demonstration on water bath canning and a lesson on how to can apple pie filling. Class size is limited. Call 828-349-2046 or email kvterrel@ncsu.edu to register. The registration fee is $10 and participants will receive an instruction handout, recipes and a jar of pie filling to take home.
For more information about the Macon County Fair, guidelines for fair entries or reserving vendor space, visit themaconcofair.com.