HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. – Despite last week’s catastrophic flooding, a decades-long tradition will continue in Haywood County as the fair kicks off Thursday.

 

What You Need To Know

The annual Haywood County Fair is kicking off Thursday

The event comes one week after fatal flooding hit the area

Organizers hope to raise spirits and help raise funds for recovery efforts

 

“It’s a huge community event,” Ben Wilder, with the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, said. “The Haywood County Fair has really drawn, regionally, people in.”

Unfortunately, because of the flooding, there won’t be produce or livestock here at the fair this year. However, there will still be music, rides, food and other classic fair events.

“A lot of stuff is still going on, unfortunately we just won’t have traditional aspects of a livestock show or general exhibits based on the effects of what happened last week,” Wilder said.

Organizers are hoping the fair will raise some spirits and help with fundraising for people impacted by the fatal flooding.

“Giving the community something to look forward to. There’s just been so many tough times over the past year and a half. This is something for people to have a distraction and come have some fun,” Wilder said.

He added, “We can’t have a fair in the future without our livestock or our farmers, and so, if we have a chance to be able to help them or help the community that was affected, we wanted to take advantage of that.”

It’s a chance for the community to come together as they always have and an opportunity to escape, even just for a little while.

“They think this carnival is as big as Disneyland for some of them. It’s fun to see everyone have a chance to have a little fun and be happy, let the parents relax and watch their kids smile for a moment,” Wilder said.

The fundraising portion is coming from the proceeds of ticket sales, and fair organizers will not take donations of any kind at the fair.

You can learn more about this year’s Haywood County Fair on their Facebook event page.

If you’d like to donate to the recovery efforts, you can visit the Recover Haywood website.