FARMVILLE — The Five County Fair returns next week for a five-day run of fun, September 17-21.

The fair’s final day is the last day of summer.

The smell of cotton candy will soon be in the air and the crunch of peanut shells, accompanied by the soundtrack of carnival notes as lights whirl round the sun-setting sky, the delightful exclamations of children seeing the world from an entirely different point of view as they spin and twist, going round and round, like swallows.

And that is just the beginning.

Professional wrestling, poster contests, talent contests, animal exhibits, beauty pageants, craft exhibits, food, rides and prizes highlight the annual extravaganza put on by fair association members from Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland and Prince Edward—the Five County Fair’s five counties.

Cole Shows Amusement will provide those midway rides beginning on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m., the fair running through Saturday night and the fair’s last scheduled event, the 8 p.m. talent contest.

Fair general manager Auburn Estes can’t wait.

The fair returned to its traditional September dates last year, after an October try-out, hoping to enjoy the more temperate climes of the year’s ninth month.

“If the weather cooperates, hopefully,” Estes told The Herald, “we’re looking for a really good fair.”

There will be no demolition derby this year because of the logistical difficulties but the talent show has been brought back out of temporary retirement.

And Estes believes the new addition of nightly bingo, hosted by the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department, will be a major attraction.

There will also be new rides, he said, “some of them that we haven’t had for years…

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

The fair’s daily schedule for the five-day run, following Monday night’s beef and youth sheep show, includes:

Tuesday, September 17—midway rides at 4 p.m., Petite, Little and Jr. Miss Pageants at 7 p.m. in the Varner Building. Free admission for students until 7 p.m. with fair school tickets. Home school students can get tickets at the admission gate.

Wednesday, September 18—The rides again start at 4 p.m. The Teen and Miss Five County Fair Pageant commences at 7:30 p.m. in the Varner Building. Free admission, also, for students until 7 p.m. with fair school tickets.

Thursday, September 19—Rides start at 6 p.m. today, rather than 4 p.m. Youth Dairy and Goat entries will be received from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. and the Dairy Show will be held at 4 p.m. in the Varner Building, with the Youth Goat Show following on its cloven heels.

Friday, September 20—Rides, again, begin at 6 p.m. Professional wrestling, via the Five County Fair and Bruiser Wrestling Federation, takes center stage at 8 p.m. in the Varner Building. And it’s Senior Citizens Day, with $2 admission for those 60 and over.

Saturday, September 21—The grand finale, rides beginning at 4 p.m. The Longwood Company Belly Dancers perform at 6:30 p.m. in the Varner Building and the Talent Contest is at 8 p.m. in the same venue.

Autumn will then rise before the setting of the next day’s sun and the fair will be another summer memory.