Few local organizations have been kicked in the teeth in recent years as the Franklin-Southampton County Fair Board. For various reasons, whether it was due to routinely bad weather or a general sense of public apathy, attendance at the Fair had been down for several years. The midway shrank, participation dwindled and the future of the Fair was called into doubt.

But has it ever come roaring back to life!

The Fair board, which undoubtedly has one of the most thankless and underappreciated jobs on earth, never gave up on their vision, and this week the whole community is being rewarded for their efforts. On Wednesday night under perfect skies, the stage area and midway were filled with as many people as would normally turn out for Friday’s headline entertainer.

Several of the civic club food booths sold out before the fair queen was ever crowned. And over 7,000 tickets have been sold in anticipation of the biggest main stage act the fair has ever had when Florida Georgia Line rolls into town to perform on Friday night.

It’s incredibly difficult to organize and pull off an event as big as a county fair. Even more so when the budget for one isn’t nearly as big as the committee would like. But pull it off, so far they have. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for blue skies on Friday and regardless, tip our caps to the Fair Committee for a job well done.