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Fair brings new attractions
New rides, new exhibits
Fair rideweb
Who loves rides? - photo by Herald File
Want to try something new and adventurous? The 46th Annual Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair opened Monday, and there are some exciting new rides in the midway
    Amusements of America has provided the midway for the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair for 29 years, and owner Dominic Vivona always tries to bring something to the fair.
    This year, there is a ride called simply "Extreme." And two rides have the same name, but are different, he said.
    The two rides are both called "Rock and Roll," but one is similar to the Flying Bobs ride, which spins carts around in a circle over a rolling track, set to music. The other "Rock and Roll" ride is "like a looping ride," he said.
    Of course, there are the traditional rides, including the Bonzai, Ring of Fire, Gravitron, Fireball and Giant Ferris Wheel. The bumper cars and swings are there, too, as well as several other rides.
    Amusements of America always provides a separate area for younger children and rides suited to smaller visitors, Vivona said. This year the tiny thrill seekers can enjoy a new ride called "Silver Streak," and the traditional rides such as the Froggie Jump, Bumblebees, roller coaster and rocking boat are back, he said.
    Aside from the rides, the midway offers a variety of games of chance from those geared towards children to those that require a degree of skill. There are booths for novelty items and vendors selling "fair food" — Italian sausages, pizza slices, funnel cakes, candy apples, cotton candy, and much  more.
    The Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair is an agricultural fair that offers a great deal more than just the midway, however. Exhibits, free entertainment, local food vendors, business and commercial booths, and a "Heritage Village" where people can see how farm families once lived.
    The Aldrich House, donated by a local family who still live just over a mile from the fairground, is a history lesson for folks who browse through and view the old house and its antique accessories. Behind the house is an outhouse and wind mill, and nearby is a newly renovated livestock barn that houses a variety of live animals.
    An old country store in Heritage Village will take you back in time as you enjoy an ice cold "Co'cola" in a bottle. A newly erected shed houses antique farm equipment, and anyone interested can watch as the grist mill churns out corn meal and sugar cane is ground into juice that is turned into cane syrup. Both can be purchased at the fair.
    Local vendors offer just about anything one could want to eat - from hamburgers to chili, fresh pork skins, funnel cakes, baked goods, deep fried Twinkies and more. And for the barbecue lovers, the Barbecue Hut sells sandwiches and barbecue by the pound as well as whole Boston butts.
    Darrell Colson, 2007 Kiwanis Fair chairman, said Monday night a line formed at the Kiwanis Pancake House immediately after the fairgrounds opened at 6 p.m.
    The Statesboro Kiwanis Club has operated the pancake house for several years and offers pancakes and sausage, which appear to be highly popular. Diners have a choice of maple or real cane syrup for the pancakes.
    Colson said Monday was a "typical" first night of the fair, with a sizable crowd and Kiwanis Club members working out a few minor details as they prepared for the upcoming week.
    The fair is a family-oriented event, and club members as well as the Bulloch County Sheriff's Department provide security for the week-long fair, which ends Saturday.
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