Andrews Four-year-old Gabby Crisp knew what she was going to do at the Cherokee County Fair on Saturday.
“I’m going to eat a blue snow cone,” she said while munching on a barbecue sandwich with her family at the fair, which returned this year after not being held since 2016 at Mountain Folk Center in Ranger.
Hundreds of people milled about Andrews Recreation Park under flawless blue skies and a gentle sun. The organizers made full use of the park’s amenities by transforming tennis courts into a shoppers’ paradise and ball parks into a giant funhouse, including a bouncy castle, face painting, ring toss and, perhaps the largest attraction, an automated farm simulator, where kids lined up to drive a computer-generated tractor through a virtual farm.
The fairgrounds bustled with children biting at cotton candy, and clumps of teenagers trying unsuccessfully to look too cool for the fair. Chandler Strickland, 16, said he loved all the vendor’s tents, but his favorite attraction was the skateboard park.
“I don’t have a skateboard yet,” he said, “but I loved watching them ride.”
Strickland’s sister, Mariah Strickland, 15, added, “I like the bouncy house and the face painting.” As proof, she pulled her curtain of long red hair back to reveal a jolly dinosaur painted on her cheek.
A bandstand sat central on the grounds, where local and nearly local bands entertained the crowds.
The adults found plenty to enjoy as well. Jan Olsen vended wines from FernCrest Winery as well as refreshing wine frozen drinks, like a peach margarita made with her own wine. Dozens of food trucks and vendors served eager crowds, from briquette tacos topped with macaroni and cheese to homemade jams and butters.
Brian Darcy, owner of Double K CBD and CBG farm, fielded questions from customers interested in hemp products. Darcy is a licensed hemp farmer, who produces medicinal cannabinoid products like oil or buds for smoking.
“The 2018 Farm Bill made hemp farming legal,” he said. “A lot of people don’t understand hemp.”
Among the distinctions between hemp and marijuana, he told a small gathering around his tent, is the THC levels and price.
“I can legally sell hemp products with 0.3 percent THC,” Darcy said. “Anything higher is illegal in North Carolina.”
The real difference is in cost.
“I sell an ounce of buds for $75,” he said. “That same ounce for marijuana would be $200-300.”
A horse named Daniel garnered attention, as Emma Johnson rode him around the grounds. Daniel lives at the High Lonesome Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Hanging Dog, which was recently voted Organization of the Year by the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce. Commonly known as horse therapy, the center offers therapeutic riding and other equine assisted services for those suffering from brain injuries to autism to emotional disabilities.
Perhaps the most meaningful fair booth was manned by the Clay County Tractor Club. Member George Kresge restored a vintage tractor that the club displayed for a raffle. The group, founded in 1990, has given away more than $71,000 in scholarships for students attending Tri-County Community College.
Club President Jeff Lowe said the group decided to start the scholarship program in the name of a friend, Dwight Smith. A member of the club, Smith died at age 17 in a haymaking accident.
“We wanted to honor him and his family,” Lowe added.
The 2016 fair reportedly cost $33,871.59 to put on and had 2,477 adult attendees, coming out $21,428 ahead. Revenues included $43,875 in sponsorships and donations, along with $10,397.55 in gate receipts and $1,028 in vendor fees, for a total of $55,300.55, according to a March report in the Cherokee Scout.
The 2022 Cherokee County Fair had at least $25,000 in funding, including $10,000 from Friends of the Cherokee County Fair, $10,000 from the Town of Andrews and $5,000 approved by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners. The commissioners also requested $10,000 from the Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority, which was approved.
The fair provided entertainment for late-night folks as well. Starting about 9 p.m., a festive fireworks show lit up Andrews’ night sky as a final act for the fair in 2022.
Girl OK after fair fall
Andrews – Mayor James Reid said a teenage girl avoided serious injury and is recovering well after falling 6-7 feet from a climbing wall attraction at the Cherokee County Fair between noon-1 p.m. Friday.
“She’s doing absolutely fine,” Reid said. “They initially thought she had broken her leg, but she had not.”
Reid said the climbing wall was operated by a private vendor. Event coordinators asked the operator to discontinue the attraction after the accident occurred.
“That’s not what we’re there for, to get people hurt,” Reid said. “He just took the ride away and didn’t do it anymore.
“He was going to have a (mechanical) bull-riding thing, and we asked him to not do that. We just didn’t want anything that might get somebody hurt.”
Reid said the teenager who fell initially refused an MRI on her leg, but town officials encouraged her to have the scan done as a precaution. The girl, a student at Andrews High School, was set to return to classes Tuesday.
– Editor Jared Putnam