Exchange Club looking for another big year for annual fair

ALBANY – The 73rd annual Exchange Club Fair will bring Southwest Georgians the opportunity of rides galore, food and live music while also helping causes like Albany domestic violence shelter Liberty House.

“We’re able to give about $75,000 back to some entities in Albany that certainly couldn’t survive without the help we give them,” Skip Nichols, fair manager for the Exchange Club of Albany, said of the annual extravaganza that runs this year Oct. 29-Nov. 3. “It’s our biggest fundraiser for the year. It’s where we raise the majority of the money we give back to the community.”

Among the organizations the Exchange Club supports are Liberty House and Open Arms, which works to prevent child abuse.

“Our main focus is child abuse,” Nichols said.

The Exchange Club also donates Time Out Teddy bears to first responders to use on calls that involve abused or traumatized children.

Despite a slamming of the area by Hurricane Michael 16 days before the opening of the 2018 fair, last year’s event was a success other than two nights that were hampered by rain, Nichols said.

“This will be our 62nd year of having the James E. Strates Shows, which is one of the largest carnivals in the country,” he said. “We’re expecting another banner year. If we get a good six days of weather, we should have another record year.”

Georgia Grown, a marketing and economic development program operated by the state Department of Agriculture, will be on hand to promote the state’s largest industry.

In addition to the rides and food, a number of musical acts are on tap for the fair.

“We’ve got about five acts that are coming in that will be performing daily and nightly on the stage of the fairgrounds,” Nichols said. “A lot of local acts (also) will be playing, probably 15 different bands. There will be everything from gospel all the way to rock and roll. And, of course, country.”

The fair attracts between 50,000 and 60,000 visitors for the week.

General admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children under 42 inches of height. There is no charge for children in strollers.

Advance tickets are on sale, including a $20 pass that includes admission for one and a wrist band that allows the wearer unlimited rides for that day and night. Passes are available at Albany Homerun Foods stores and at www.exchangeclubfair.org.

“That’s a $32 value ticket for $20,” Nichols said.

Fair hours are from 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Oct. 29, 30, 31 and Nov. 1, and from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Nov. 2, when those who arrive between 11 a.m. and noon get free admission and rides until 2 p.m. Gates open at 1 p.m. on Nov. 3.

The Exchange Club’s history with the fair dates back to the 1940s.

“We actually were approached by the city of Albany and the Shrine Club one year,” Nichols said. “We helped them one year. The next year we were given the opportunity to take over.”

While it may be a septuagenarian, the Exchange Club Fair is still very much alive and kicking.

“It’s just an opportunity for folks to come out and have a good time,” Nichols said.

Special Photo