Carolina Classic Fair
The Carolina Classic Fair, is an annual fair held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The fair takes place every autumn on the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds (formerly known as the Forsyth County Fairgrounds), which is part of the Winston-Salem Entertainment-Sports Complex; the grounds are located adjacent to the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. 371,219 attended the 2007 Dixie Classic Fair, which was a new attendance record. This attendance record elevated the Dixie Classic Fair to the 50th largest attended Fair in North America; it has been second only to the North Carolina State Fair in attendance in the state for many years.
The fair began in the former town of Salem as a grain exposition in 1882 (2007 was the 125th anniversary). In 1897, the Piedmont Tobacco Fair was started and shortly thereafter the two events merged to form the Winston-Salem Fair. The fair moved to its current fairgrounds in 1952 and changed its name to the "Dixie Classic Fair for Northwest North Carolina" in 1956.[1] Prior to 2019, the event was most commonly known as just the Dixie Classic Fair.
Owing to the racist imagery conjured up by the name "Dixie", the Winston-Salem City Council voted in October 2019 to change the name.[2]
There were cancellations in 1917–18, 1942–45 & 2020.
External links
References
- Dixie Classic Fair History Archived June 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Young, Wesley (January 17, 2020). "City unveils logo for Carolina Classic Fair". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2020.