The 55th annual Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair will start with a parade Monday, Oct. 17, through downtown Statesboro. Local dignitaries, classic cars, bands, beauty queens and themed floats will meander along North and South Main streets as the community celebrates the kick-off to a week’s worth of carnival fun.
The seven-county agricultural fair runs through Oct. 22 and features a midway by Amusements of America; craft, agricultural and homemaking exhibits; live entertainment; historical displays; and an assortment of food vendors.
Sam’s Petting Zoo and Rosaire’s Racing Pigs will return to the Heritage Village area of the fairgrounds, and visitors will enjoy amazing performances by Extreme Illusions and Escapes.
The parade begins at 5 p.m., and floats fashioned around this year’s theme, “Farmers: We Have a Good Thing Growing,” will be judged for cash prizes. Parade entrants should select "theme float" on their applications to be considered in the competition, said parade Chairman Charles Sheets.
Applications for all entries must be received by Thursday, Oct. 13, and may be submitted online at www.kiwanisogeecheefair.org.
Rules may be found on the website as well, he said. They include a limit of eight people per float, and no candy may be thrown from floats or vehicles.
Horseback riders do not have to submit applications but must be in place at the start of the parade on Mulberry Street, in the parking lot behind Coastal Countertops, where trailers may be parked for loading and unloading. Each rider is asked to give a $5 donation for a cleanup crew to follow along the parade route. For more information on bringing horses to the parade, contact Holli Deal Saxon at (912) 531-3865 or hbragg@statesboroherald.com.
Walking animals are permitted, if on a leash, and they will be placed near the end of the parade with the horses.
For more information about the parade, contact Sheets at (912) 587-9232 or sheetschuck34@yahoo.com.
Fair Week
The fair has much to offer everyone, regardless of age or interest. Competitors from a seven-county region — Bulloch, Bryan, Candler, Evans, Jenkins, Screven and Tattnall — will compete for ribbons and cash prizes in 4-H and FFA mini-booths, baked and canned goods, artwork, livestock showing and more.
Special contests include a 4-H and FFA Scarecrow Contest, open to active 4-H or FFA members in grades 7–12, with one entry per school. Rules may be found on the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair website or by contacting Debra Pease at (912) 682-7824, (912) 587-2388 or dpease55@gmail.com.
There is also an FFA Invitational, a contest with categories including forestry, nursery/landscaping and floriculture. The invitational is open to middle and high school FFA chapters and will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the livestock barn. For more information, contact Susannah Lanier at slanier@bullochschools.org.
Aside from many exhibits, the agricultural fair offers commercial displays, a variety of food vendors (local and midway) and agricultural exhibits including a honey bee display, a barnyard, antique farming equipment, the historic Aldrich House in which a local farm family lived, and a cane grinding exhibit where cane syrup and cane juice may be purchased, as well as a blacksmith shop and a grist mill where freshly ground grits and cornmeal produced on site by a local family may be bought.
Amusements of America, which has brought an exciting midway to the fair for more than 25 years, is expected to bring several major thrill rides, games of chance and a special kiddie ride section, set aside from the hustle and bustle of the larger attractions, where families may safely take small children.
For more information about the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair, visit www.kiwanisogeecheefair.org.
Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.