Carnival features giant Ferris wheel
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
SEPT. 7, 2021 | The 66th Gwinnett County Fair will open its gates on September 16 and run for 11 days, closing September 26. The 2020 Fair was cancelled because of the pandemic, but officials are hoping that the 2021 Fair can be held with restrictive policies to improve safety. The fair is held at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceville, at 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway.
Dale Thurman, director of the Fair, says that “We are doing everything possible to have a safe fair. We recommended masks in all buildings, and we will have hand-cleaning stations throughout the fairgrounds. We’re also spraying disinfectant throughout the area during opening hours, making sure we clean door handles and any other areas that people may touch. At events, we’ll have spread seating, and wider aisles.”
Thurman is also anticipating record crowds. “We feel people want to get out, after being locked up so much last year. The best attendance we have ever had was 245,000 people, and we feel we will be close to the record this year, if we get good weather.”
The Gwinnett County Fair continues a tradition of awarding prizes, in 421 handicraft competitions, for such products as canned vegetables and fruit, sewing apparel, crochets, needlepoint, quilts and knitted items, jewelry, art items including photography and others.
The Fair also is the host of the annual Miss Gwinnett pageant.
Gwinnett’s Fair is one of the few fairs in Georgia that continues to offer livestock showing prizes with shows for goats, sheep, lambs, pigs and cattle. The cattle categories include many breeds: Simmental, Angus, Hereford, Charolais, Reg Angus, Fleckvieh, Shorthorn and heifers. Many of those showing animals come from as far away as Florida, since there are fewer fairs offering competition in animal showmanship.
Arts and crafts winners on display
Again this year, the midway will be staged by Amusements of America, which has provided the shows and rides for the Gwinnett Fair since 1994. Their array of attractions include super spectacular rides such as the Giant Wheel, Wave Swinger, Full Size Crazy Mouse Coaster, Polar Express, and the popular Chaos. This carnival company was founded 71 years ago, with the purchase of the Ferris Wheel from the 1939 World’s Fair.
The five Vivona brothers bring a lifetime of carnival operations knowledge to each engagement. The company has decades of long relationships with many of North America’s largest and oldest events. Their annual route stretches across the eastern seaboard and Midwestern United States from Miami to New York, and Ohio to Georgia.
Altogether, the Gwinnett County Fair will have at least 36 midway attractions, including many local clubs as vendors, who have provided many different foods for fairgoers for years.
A new attraction at the 2021 Fair will be an exhibit of Georgia Grown products. These products are caught, created or cultivated in Georgia to bring fresh products to the people. It is a division of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
Admission to the fair is free on opening day (September 16). Regular admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for kids and seniors. The gates open at 5 p.m. daily, at 11 a.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Parking is free.
Bill Atkinson is president of the Association (officially the Gwinnett County Livestock and Fair Association, a 501c3 organization). Other officers include James Freeman as vice president; Randy Davis as secretary; Pat Cronin as treasurer; and the following directors: Brad Crowe, Johnny Lovin, Michael Nash and Gary Palmer.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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