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Next month will see the return of the Flint River Fair, a yearly staple that has been missing since 2019. Chamber of Commerce president Lauren Minor sat down with the Post-Searchlight to give people a preview of what to expect.

The festivities will begin on Tuesday, October 4, from 5:00-10:00 PM. “Tuesday has historically been the day that your families with really young kids come out,” Minor said. “It’s one of our quieter days, and so we really try to tailor that to your toddler age kids.” Tuesday will have costumed characters like Elsa from “Frozen” and Marshall from “Paw Patrol”, among others, present, as well as performances by Murkerson’s Gymnastics, Lucretia’s School of Dance and the Bainbridge Middle School step team. The Firehouse Arts Center will also have a kid’s art gallery.

Wednesday will be a big night, although slightly different. While it offers a new “foam party” event put on by SkateTowne (which will be offered for the remainder of the fair), Wednesday will also feature a large youth rally put on by local churches. “Wednesday night, usually those youth groups are meeting in their respective churches, but they’re all gonna come together here… It’s just a way to, not necessarily compete with Wednesday night church, but have it here.”

As the week of the fair will be high school Homecoming week, Thursday night will be school spirit themed, with $2 off gate admission for students wearing their school colors.

While the foam party and regular rides will be offered on Friday, there won’t be anything new on Friday evening, so as not to compete with the homecoming games.

Saturday will be the biggest day, with the 4-H putting on a petting zoo, KoolBreeze Helicopters offering rides ($35 per person), and a hot dog eating contest scheduled for 1:00 PM. Registration for the contest is still ongoing, with a $25 registration fee; the winner will receive a $500 prize.

“What we’re hearing from the fair company, is that since people haven’t been able to go to these things in two years, that they’re seeing the biggest turnouts they’ve seen in a while,” Minor said. The hours for the fair are from 5:00-10:00 PM, Tuesday through Thursday; 5:00 PM-12:00 AM on Friday; and 12:00 PM-12:00 AM on Saturday.

This year, the fair will also be selling special arm bands for ride access. “When you come to the fair, you pay a gate admission fee, which is $5,” Minor explained. “And then there’s several options for someone who is riding rides. So obviously you can pay your gate admission, come in and buy food, do whatever you want… if you want to ride rides, there’s several option for you.” She continued, “You can buy an armband that lets you ride any ride out there as many times as you want… the other option is that you can buy tickets, and each ride is a certain amount of tickets.”

At the gate, arm bands cost $30, but can be purchased online for $25. Wednesday is also buy-one-get-one-free night, though a coupon is required; these will be placed out around the community, including in local banks.

“Overall we seek to give our community something positive and fun and family-oriented for them to do, and we hope that’s what the fair offers,” Minor concluded.