Sid Salter briefs Starkville community leaders about the events of this year’s Fair
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It has its roots as an agricultural fair and exposition, but in the past 130-plus years, the Neshoba County Fair has grown into “Mississippi’s Giant Houseparty”.
Neshoba County native, noted journalist, and longtime fairgoer, Sid Salter briefed Starkville business and community leaders about the events of this year’s Fair today.
The Neshoba County Fair still has some of its traditional agricultural aspects, along with harness racing, entertainment, and a carnival midway, but for many, political stump speeches in Founders’ Square are the main attraction.
Salter says it comes down to “porches, pies, and politics”. The politics give you something to talk about after you’ve eaten the pie, and you’re relaxing on the cabin porch.
But really, it comes down to the fact that there is something for almost everyone at The Fair.
“Everybody can find some facet of the fair that will appeal to them. Maybe, not all of them, but I like to tell people there are a lot of different ‘fairs’ going on there when people visit. It depends on what your interests are and where your heart is. People find their ‘fair’ when they get down there,” said Salter.
To get an idea of how varied the interests of fairgoers can be, Salter says the two biggest crowds he knows of were in 1980 when then-candidate Ronald Reagan drew 32 to 33 thousand, and more recently, when Country Music singer Hardy pulled in a crowd of 35,000.
