Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 UCW 13 COVER STORY On March 7, 1914, at an intra- squad game at the Fayetteville Fair Grounds, George Herman Ruth Jr., better known now as "Babe," took the plate. Ruth was a new player for the Baltimore Orioles, back when it was only in the minor leagues. Fayetteville was just a stop for train- ing at the time. As Babe took the plate in the seventh inning, Ruth hit the first homer of his career and earned Fayetteville a small part of baseball history. is year, Cumberland County Fair will return with a hom- age to the love of baseball and the role it's played in Fayetteville and agriculture. "Baseball did impact agriculture in this area," said Madeleine Ever- sole, the marketing director for the Crown Complex. "It'll be tied in." e fair will be hosted at the Crown Complex from Sept. 2 to 11. e title of this year's fair is "Take Me Out … To the Fair!" "One of the really cool things is that the Cumberland County Coop- erative Extension will have a display area that focuses on that educa- tional, agricultural part of the fair. ey are going to have some really fun baseball tie-ins." Along with these displays, the fair will host a step and dance show, beauty pageant, ribbon cutting cer- emony and about 20 different food vendors. e vendors will include every- thing from seafood to barbecue and snow cones to breakfast foods. And, of course, it will provide fair staples like corn dogs, cotton candy and probably a deep fried item or two. ere will also be standard rides available like a ferris wheel. As to be expected in an agricul- tural community, the fair members will host livestock and a pet- ting zoo. e most exciting part for Eversole, however, is the abil- ity to gather again. "ere are no restrictions on things. A lot of those have been lifted. We can all enjoy getting together again," she said. "We are still being really cautious but it's more of a focus on fun." And fun has been the focus of the county members since they began planning the fair last October — only getting about a month break be- tween the fair that had just happened and the beginning of the next one that would take place. Eversole says a lot goes into the preparation for the event with 50 to 100 people getting the area ready and hundreds working shifts dur- ing its operation. "We are not a year round fair ground. It's a huge undertaking … You have to make sure you have power for all those vendors. It's a ton of thinking about what really needs to go into making this hap- pen," she said. As with every year, people within the community can enter into the various contests like those for live- stock, vegetables, pickling, canning, jams, crafts and much more. is year, Eversole said, they anticipate for the attendance to be really strong. "First and foremost, the fair is a great experience for the community because everyone gets to bring the family out and enjoy spending time together," Eversole said. "ere's something for everyone at the fair." For kids, Eversole says, there will be a lot of educational opportuni- ties. Kids can come and learn about livestock and that "food doesn't just come from the grocery store." In the future, she says that the members of the county are hoping to increase rural involvement and bring more livestock to the fair. "Really we want to do anything we can to increase awareness of the agricultural community. at's what sets us apart from simply being a carnival," she said. "at added educational aspect of the fair is the true focal point of this event." Eversole and the other mem- bers of the Crown Complex invite everyone to grab some loved ones and take them out to the fair and maybe, learn a little about agricul- ture and baseball. For more information or to get tickets, visit crowncomplexnc.com. Take me out ... to the county fair by KATHLEEN RAMSEY KATHLEEN RAMSEY, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. e Cumberland County Fair runs Sept. 2 to 11 at the Crown Complex. ere will be rides, games and competi- tions for all ages. (Photos of previous fairs courtesy the Cumberland County Fair)