Exchange Club Fair of Southwest Georgia right around the corner

ALBANY — Few things signal that fall is in full swing like the smell of funnels cakes, the sing-song voice of a carnival barker and the flashing lights of the midway as residents enjoy another year of the Southwest Georgia Regional Fair, which is held each year at the Exchange Club of Albany’s fairgrounds.

This year will mark the 68th year that Exchange Club of Albany will be presenting its annual event, which helps raise important funds for the nonprofit’s many charitable works while also providing residents across Southwest Georgia with an old-fashioned good time. The fairgrounds are at 810 S. Westover Blvd.

“We really want everybody to come out and have a good time,” said Exchange Club Fair of Southwest Georgia Vice President Skip Nichols. “For a lot of folks around here it has become a family tradition to visit the fair.”

Nichols, who remembers going to the fair as a youngster, said that part of what makes the fair in Albany so special is the relationship the Exchange Club has built with James E. Strates Shows, the carnival company that supplies and manages the fair’s many midway attractions.

“We’ve been with James E. Strates for nearly 60 years,” said Nichols. “The Strates are a tremendous family to work with. They are like family to us too.”

Nichols said the company, which has been running carnivals and fairs across the country since 1923, started coming to Albany at the end of the yearly carnival season on its way to Orlando for the winter, to get much needed supplies for what is called “winter quarters.”

“They used to come through Albany because we had a lot of companies that could supply the things they needed for making repairs during winter quarters,” said Nichols. “Because we had things like the Marine Base, Coats and Clark and Flint River Textiles that used a lot of the same type machines and motors that were used on a lot of the attractions. Over time members of the Exchange Club built a relationship with the family and they’ve been putting on the fair attractions here ever since.”

In fact, Nichols said James E. Strates typically puts on fairs in larger cities that run longer than the six days the fair in Albany runs, but because of that relationship the company has always made the trip to Southwest Georgia for the fair.

“They put a lot of money back into Albany,” Nichols said. “The only way really we can do this and generate money for the organizations we support is through generosity of the Strates. They’ve got a big heart.”

While the Strates Shows’ midway attractions have long been the focal point of a trip to the fair, many attendees enjoy the other activities and events that make the fair a unique experience. Things like livestock shows, live music and especially foods like funnel cakes, roasted turkey legs, elephant ears and meat on a stick are a Southwest Georgia Regional Fair highlight.

This year the Exchange Club is adding a new attraction to the mix, welcoming the American Pioneer Village and Museum to the midway. Featuring things like a grist mill, leather shop and a covered wagon, the pioneer village and museum will give visitors a taste of what life was like once upon a time.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind exhibit that shows the hard work and ingenuity our forefathers showed in the past, to us where we are today,” Nichols said. “It’s going to be different.”

Of course, making the fair a success every year takes more than having attractions, Nichols said. It takes hard work from many in the community as well as the 160 Excahnge Club members.

Nichols said all the club members, who are strictly volunteers, spend six months preparing for the fair each year and the vast majority of them also work throughout the six days that the fair runs in a variety of capacities, from directing traffic and manning the gates, to working with the hired security to help keep the grounds safe.

The fair has also built long-standing relationships with many local sponsors, which Nichols calls partners, who do various things to keep the fair going and make it affordable to the community.

“We have great partnerships for the fair and they are in many ways responsible for helping us raise money for important charitable causes, so I consider them partners,” Nichols said. “We’re all about community and everybody has to pull together to make things work.”

Partnering with the Exchange Club of Albany for this year’s fair include: Albany Air Conditioning, Albany General Tire, Albany Honda, B100FM, Bill Thompson Tire Service, Bob White Rents, Cleanstart Inc., Concrete Enterprises, Dennis Hester CPA, Dougherty, Duggan, Hart and Tiernan Insurors, Door and Window Company, Ivey’s Outdoor and Farm Supply, Kimbrell-Stern Funeral Directors, Knight’s Appliances, Little Caesars, Matrix, Medi-Save Pharmacy, Mid-South Fence Co., Moe’s, R&S Diesel Injection, Railway Freight, Rodd Electronics, SB&T Bank, Southern Industrial Electronics, Steve Perrine State Farm, Walker Cooling-Heating, 96.3 WJIZ, Budweiser, Swain Heavy Equipment, Albany Mall, The Albany Herald, Harvey’s, Walgreen’s, Homerun Foods, and McDonald’s

The fair officially opens Nov. 4 and will wind down on Nov. 9. The grounds will open that week at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday 1 p.m. Sunday. While there is no “official” closing time each day, Nichols said things are typically done before midnight Tuesday through Saturday and by 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Regular admission prices for the fair are $8 for adults and $4 for children. Child under 42 inches tall get in free. Prices for rides and attractions vary, although “all you can ride” wristbands are available for $20.

For those looking for discounts on admission and attractions, Nichols said there are quite a few available. The biggest discount can be had with the fair’s new Mega Pass, which is new this year.

Available from Oct. 13 to Nov. 3, the Mega Pass can be purchased at any local Walgreens or Homerun Foods locations and offers fair-goers the best deal said Nichols. The $18 pass includes admission and an “all you can ride” wristband that can be used any day of the fair.

“The Mega Pass is definitely the best deal,” said Nichols. “For an adult it’s a $28 value for $18.”

Nov. 4 is Harvey’s-Fox 31 Ride Day when gate admission for students is free between 4 and 5 p.m. and seniors 55 and over can enter the gates for $3. In addition anyone presenting a money saving coupon that can be picked up at any local Harvey’s can get an “unlimited ride” ticket for $16.

Nov. 5 -6 are McDonald’s-WJIZ 96.3 Ride Days when anyone presenting a coupon that can be picked up at any local McDonald’s can purchase an “unlimited ride” ticket for $16. Seniors age 55 and over can also enter the gate for $3.

Nov. 8 features a variety of deals, including free gate admission for all between 11 a.m. and noon (must be in line by noon). That day seniors 55 and over can get enter the gate for $5. Also, “unlimited ride” tickets for kids over 42 inches are available for $14 until 2 p.m. and can be used from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., courtesy of The Albany Herald.

“Thanks to our partners we can offer lots of different savings throughout the week,” said Nichols. “It can be hard this time of the year for families to afford to do things like go to the fair, so we try to make it where it is affordable. We want everyone to have the chance to come have a good time.”

For a complete list of all discounts available throughout the week, visit exchangeclubfair.org.