North Georgia State Fair — Local services in Marietta

Before I continue, I've been to this fair quite a few times in the past, but it's been years. If I were posting this then, I very likely would have given 5 stars. It felt like an entirely different experience when compared to what we experienced today (2024).

I also wish to say the only reason I'm giving two stars is because I did appreciate what little there was of an exhibit hall, which has always been (and was) a free experience. Same with the petting zoo, which my niece enjoyed, but which was also much smaller than it was in years past. Again, I realize they're free and I'm very thankful they continue to be there to this day for all to experience. I also have no personal complaints regarding security; they seemed plentiful and polite.

The trouble began with the parking situation. The lots were seemingly scattered in different areas around the park. I had set Google Maps for the address given for the appropriate lot as explained on the official website, but we met signs pointing to "fair parking" along the way. Which we found, but quickly filled. My sister, showing up later, searched for approximately two hours to find nothing. But people were seemingly walking from quite some distance, from an unknown location for this entire time, up until the time we left.

People were still coming in as we left, despite the massive crowds with no end. You couldn't tell where the ride (or even many of the food vendors) lines ended or began. They quite literally ran along other lines, to other attractions, parallel to eachother, sometimes seemingly becoming one line before splitting into two again.

I'm not making this up, either. It was an absolute chaotic mess, in short. I do understand it was simply a busy time, but as stated by others, it felt as if there was zero organization to it. No way to tell what insanely long line to be in at any given time.

As far as prices and food goes, the corn and shish kebabs were good, but as stated by others, the lemonade wasn't nearly as good as in years past. If you're asked to pay $9 per cup like we were, I'd personally say maybe pass on it. No real lemons in the cups anymore, even.

$10 entry or 5 non-perishable/non-expired food items, $5 to park. Not bad, if the parking were more plentiful. Bought the unlimited rides early online. Expect to spend alot on most anything inside. We were allowed to bring bottled water in though.

I think the most disappointing part of the experience today however was the fact that this fair used to be so much better. So much larger. There were so many things I remember from back then just not being there now, from rides to food options to exhibits to shows to concerts. If you haven't been in a while, don't expect it to be the same, in all honesty. Which is a real shame, considering I've never seen them have so many paying...

review based on a weekday afternoon/evening- Wednesday, Sep 24.

This fair is overall the biggest disaster of a fair I have gone to, and I have been to many. There are exceptions: the demolition derby - both kids and big- was very well done. organized, professional, friendly. No fault with them. The Black woman in the booth that sold pretzels was nothing short of a delight.

There were some nice police in the park. (By the way, if you lost your green colored debit card- my son found it on the ground by the ferris wheel and I turned it into a security officer! Contact them! I also found a large, expensive looking switchblade on the ground by Jekyll I am not sure how got in and turned that in as well to an employee - but you’ll be telling on yourself breaking rules if you retrieve that. 😂 Definitely know you aren’t safe!

Lines were obscenely long and disordered even on a weekday night. We paid for the unlimited rides, but despite being there open to close and doing rides until they closed except during the derby it managed 3- and were about to get on the ferris wheel after waiting forever when they closed for a light rain. Online said that lightning would close it - but there was only the lightest rain before they closed. (Got heavier for a bit before stopping but never lightning.) With each line taking 45-1:15 the unlimited pass doesn’t pay off even if you’re there the whole time. Didn’t catch other shows because stuck in line. Never have had that consistently long of lines at any fair.

Many the employees (not all of course) have no clue what’s going on and where is where and how to get there. Not sure if a lot were new this year? The layout exacerbated the problem… it was as if no thought was put into traffic management in the fair… and they had way more people than that amount of space and layout was prepared to handle.

The police directing out of the South parking lot… one was incredibly rude to everyone and it sounded like he said a racial word (one no one should ever say) to another guest - made us very uncomfortable. I am sure more the the very young man there who only appeared to be trying to cross the street, though I didn’t catch the...

I went to the fair twice just to make sure I wasn’t overreacting the first time — but unfortunately, the experience was just as bad both times. The staff and on-site police were rude and gave off very clear racist energy. Parking was horrible, especially for those with disabilities — there was no proper handicap parking available. We had to park far away and take a shuttle to get to the fairgrounds. We paid $15 each for entry (me and my wife), and at the ticket booth we were told we had to buy unlimited ride passes because each ride had a different ticket range. That seemed reasonable at the time. We got there at 6 PM and were told the fair closes at 11 PM and the gate closes at 10 PM — no one mentioned that rides actually stop running at 10 as well. We grabbed an $8 lemonade (mostly ice and a lemon slice) and popcorn to watch the motocross show at 7. After that, we were ready to enjoy some rides — only to find out every ride had a 45-minute wait. We picked one and waited over an hour due to being skipped repeatedly. We finally got on at 9:10 PM — one hour for a 45-second ride. After a quick bathroom break, slushy, and funnel cake, it was about 9:30. We got in line for another ride, expecting another long wait, but figured we had until 11. At about 10 PM, a group walking past us let us know the rides had just shut down. We were confused and frustrated — we were never told rides stopped at 10. We immediately looked for someone in charge and were directed to a police officer named Coreress. The moment we approached him to explain our situation, his attitude was dismissive, agitated, and frankly, racially charged. He gave no help, no explanation, and simply told us the office was closed and to "come back tomorrow" to speak with him. This was a complete waste of time and money, and the treatment we received — especially as paying guests — was unacceptable. Between the lack of communication, poor accessibility, and clear racial bias from staff and security, I would not recommend this fair to anyone, especially people of color or those with...