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Andrews – The Cherokee County Fair appears to be on its way to becoming a fixture in town.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Nov. 28 to keep the fair in Andrews in 2023, after the event returned in September for the first time since 2016.
“If we do it now, that gives them plenty of time to start working on trying to get some rides in there,” said Commissioner Randy Phillips, who made the motion.
Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum announced Feb. 21 that officials planned to resurrect the fair this year at Andrews Recreation Park off Main Street, but the timing did not allow organizers to secure any carnival rides, which are often booked a year or more in advance.
Andrews Mayor James Reid said the town is excited to host the event again in 2023 and eager to build on what was started this year. Although he was pleased with the turnout for the 2022 event, he acknowledged that rides have to be part of the mix going forward.
“The biggest thing is, we’ve got to make sure we secure rides this year and (have) more activities for the kids,” Reid said. “This year was great, and we did the best with what we had to work with, but I’m hoping for bigger and better things next year.”
Commissioner Cal Stiles seconded Phillips’ motion, noting that the extra window of approval also gives Andrews a chance to install additional utilities and infrastructure that can improve the event in 2023 and beyond. Reid said the recreation department is already pursuing grants that can upgrade the park.
“We’re always going after grants, but (Director James) ‘Jaybird’ Ellis at the rec park has applied for a couple of million dollars in grants, trying to get our infrastructure a little better,” Reid said. “We hope to get a bath house at the soccer field, so we’ll have to room to expand. Without electricity, it’s hard to do a lot of the activities you want to do.”
Commissioner Jan Griggs pointed out that the board’s discussions earlier this year included the possibility of rotating the fair between Andrews and Murphy in coming years.
“I have no problem having it back in Andrews and, yes, they did a phenomenal job, but we have two towns in the county,” Griggs said.
Eichenbaum said he had spoken with Murphy Mayor Tim Radford, who deferred to Andrews continuing to host the event.
After being absent from Cherokee County for decades, the fair was held in 2015 and 2016 at Mountain Folk Center off of U.S. 64 West in Ranger. That venue was even renamed the Cherokee County Fairgrounds in 2017, but it never hosted the event under its new moniker.
Later that year, organizers decided the fair was not going to come together as they hoped it would. Although officials initially intended to bring back the event in 2018, those plans never materialized. Six years after it was last held, the event returned with a new date and location.
Eichenbaum said in February that it makes more sense to hold the event in Andrews, where organizers can potentially draw a bigger crowd from areas such as Bryson City, Nantahala and Robbinsville. The event likewise was moved up from its past October dates to September to avoid competing against bigger autumn events across the area, such as the Punkin Chunkin, Sorghum Festival and John C. Campbell Folk School’s Fall Festival.