Southwest Georgia Regional Fair winding down
Only two days left to visit this year’s Southwest Georgia Regional Fair
By Brad McEwen
ALBANY — Area families still have time left to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the midway as the 2016 Southwest Georgia Regional Fair heads into its final weekend.
This year’s fair, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, has seen a “tremendous turnout,” according to Exchange Club of Albany member and fair director Skip Nichols.
“So far we’ve had great crowds,” Nichols said early Friday afternoon. “The first night was a record night for a Tuesday. We had as many people as we’ve ever had on a Tuesday.
“Wednesday and Thursdays nights were above our five-year average. We won’t know (all the numbers) until we tally everything up, so we’re going off what we’ve seen at the gate. And that doesn’t even include all of our advance tickets. Advance ticket sales were tremendous this year.”
Aside from the numbers they’ve seen Nichols said he and other Exchange Club members have been pleased with the number of families they’ve seen on the midway this year.
“There’s been beaucoups families out at the fair this year,” Nichols said. “There’s been more families this year than we’ve seen in years.”
Nichols attributes the rise in family attendance partly to the increased security this year. Security personnel are at the front gate checking for weapons and drugs, and uniformed deputies are patrolling the grounds at all time.
Nichols said he thinks families have also been attracted to the safety of the fair’s midway attractions, which are once again provided by Strates Shows Inc., formerly James E. Strates Shows, which has been providing amusements for the Exchange Club fair for 60 years.
The Strates company has a reputation for having high safety standards, and all of rides and attractions have passed state inspection, said Nichols.
“They know that not only do we have a safe, family-friendly fairgrounds, we’ve got safe rides,” the fair director said. “We’re looking for a great night again tonight (Friday). Then Saturday night we’ve got the Demolition Derby. That’s going to bring a family crowd out, too.”
Nichols said he hopes to continue seeing large crowds on both Saturday and the fair’s final day on Sunday. He pointed out that the Exchange Club has promotions going on each day.
The gates open at 11 a.m. Saturday, and patrons can purchase unlimited ride bracelets for $14 for children under 42 inches. Those bracelets can be bought that day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and used from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday’s gate admission is also free for active and retired military personnel and their families with ID.
Additionally Nichols said from 11 a.m to noon everybody gets in the gate for free and gets unlimited rides until midnight
The Demolition Derby, which will feature both large and small cars running in multiple heats, is scheduled to begin around 7 p.m., with the parade lap and driver introductions starting at 7:30 p.m.
The Exchange Club of Albany Fairgrounds are located at the corner of Westover Boulevard and Oakridge Drive. For more information about the Southwest Georgia Regional Fair, visit exchangeclubfair.org or call (229) 436-8827.
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