Publisher’s Page: Kiwanis Coweta County Fair begins Sept. 21

By John A. Winters, Publisher

Starting Sept. 21, one of the great annual events to hit Coweta County starts.

We’re talking about the Kiwanis Coweta County Fair, for years one of the best definitions of “fun for the whole family” out there. Not only that, there is definitely something for everyone to enjoy, from animal competitions to thrill rides.

It’s also probably the biggest fundraiser for local nonprofits there is. So while you are having fun, you are also helping out our local nonprofits, who in turn help others throughout the community.

Let’s just see if there is something that might interest you below:

For competitors, there is the 4-H K-9 Club Dog Show and the 4-H Horse Showmanship. There are also rabbit, goat and poultry competitions. More competitions include the family scarecrow contest, youth pumpkin carving, gingerbread house decorating, lumberjack and lumberjill competition and of course, the Cattleman’s Cook-Off.

Did someone say food? Did someone say cotton candy, corndogs, popcorn, pizza, boiled peanuts, hotdogs and hamburgers and more to snarf down before getting on some spinning ride? Just please clean up after yourself.

One thing not to miss are the various side shows. There’s everything from a magic show to a graffiti artist to an artist who uses a chainsaw rather than a paint brush. And other favorites like the Torres Family Circus, the Southeastern Reptile Rescue Exhibit, Sam’s Path Petting Zoo and Rust and Flame Blacksmith will be on hand.

What are we missing? It’s right there on the tip of my tongue … Something … wait … wait …

RIDES!!

Anyone who knows me knows I hate seeing exclamation points. I just used two. So it’s a big deal.

Ali Baba, Cloud 9, Bikini Bottom, Experience, Funny Bunny Wheel, Ring of Fire, Sea Ray, Spin out and another 40 rides will be out there. And trust me when I say, the rides with names that don’t really stand out … yeah, watch out for those.  Wolves in sheep’s clothing so to speak.

And while the Fair is all fun and games and food and competitions and balloon animals and magic tricks and ferris wheels and death defying feats and chainsaw art and … on and on.

In reality, the best part of the Fair is that a big portion of the money brought in goes right back out to the community.
Since moving to the Coweta County Fairgrounds, the Newnan Kiwanis Club has donated more than $2 million to local nonprofits. Over the last few years, the club has averaged about $200,000 in grants and other payments.

And for those of us who call ourselves Kiwanians, that’s what the Fair is really all about. So please come to the Fair, come often and spend lots of money – you’re giving back by doing so.

Here at Winters Media, we’re doing something a little different for the Fair this year. The September edition of The Paper is going to include an 8-page special Fair section that includes the official Fair program.

Normally, a 7,500-circulation edition, this one will be 40,000. We will direct mail 30,000 beginning Sept. 7 and will distribute another 10,000 throughout the county at our more than 100 distributions points.

And be on the lookout for some big money-saving coupons.

See you there.