Belle Fair opened for the first day of their Oct 18-22nd long stint. A DJ kept the atmosphere going for the light crowd, while rides flashed and swirled.
Tranell Green gave a tour. He talked about his experience.
“I’ve actually been in the business four years now. I got into it directing and promoting.”
He highlighted the rides.
“We have, right now, seventeen rides total. A variety of new rides.”
He stated they were different “than anything that has ever come to Americus.”
Green talked about how many venues he typically does in a year.
“Maybe about 18-20.”
He talked about his favorite ride, featuring a passenger car that spun on the inside of a gigantic hoop.
“Actually here, my favorite ride would be the Himalya. The Himalya, that’s pretty much a classic ride. Everyone loved that. The kiddie Himalaya, we have two of those. We have a lot of variety for the kids.”
Beverly Aldrige gave her reactions to the fair, talking about her favorite part.
“Pretty much everything.”
She mentioned coming as an observer.
“I’m just watching my granddaughter.”
Aldrige described her granddaughter’s love of rides.
“She likes them all. Not me. She’s fixing to get on a ride now.”
She mentioned finding the rides intimidating.
“But she’s not scared. I’m scared of most all of them.”
Aldrige stated her granddaughter was a fair-going regular.
“She goes to every one. I took her to the Perry fair, we’ve been to this fair, and we’re going to Columbus fair.”
Laquetha Nelms stood outside of Tesla’s Food Factory. She gave her thoughts on the fair.
“I love the funnel cakes. It’s a very nice fair.”
The Typhoon swung several young fair goers back and forth, causing them to scream with glee.
Thirteen-year-old Skylar Perry worked a booth with rows of glass cups and a tank of live goldfish.
“You win goldfish, all you do is make a ping pong ball into any of the glass jars.”
Perry mentioned other jobs she had worked.
“I’ve worked in food before, food and games.”
Her mom, Gina Perry, said that they had been working fairs for about as long as her daughter was old.
“Her dad was born and raised in it.
Skylar Perry talked about her favorite place she had visited.
“Probably Monroe, Louisiana.”
She gave her reason for what made it great.
“Probably Duck Dynasty, it was really cool. I didn’t get to see them, but the tour was pretty cool. It was like a walk through.”
She was asked whether she was able to see the set or the company.
“It was a little bit of both. It was a mixture. You did get to make a duck call though.”
Gina Perry told her favorite place she had been able to visit working fairs.
“I liked Maine. The scenery, it was really pretty there.”
She described her daughter’s education.
“She’s homeschooled. It’s all an education out here for her. And every place we go we try to go someplace educational.
Three-year-old Jasiah Searcy gave his reactions to the fair, responding when asked his favorite ride while enthusiastically munching popcorn.
“All of them.”
He talked about the rides he had ridden.
“On the tractor, on the dragons.”