Carolina Classic Fair Comes Back Swinging

By: Michael Marteny

Picture of two of the rides at the Carolina Classic Fair, taken by Avery Bissette

The Carolina Classic Fair, held annually in the fall, celebrated its 143rd year of operation from Oct. 3-12. According to Visit Winston-Salem, it is the second largest agricultural fair in North Carolina, boasting a world-class carnival, rides and games, music, entertainment, food, and exhibits for poultry, livestock, fine arts, and crafts. The fair averages 325,000 visitors a year, but fell short in its 2025 season with only 251,213 attendees within the ten-day period, according to an article by WXII-12. However, in the same article, it is revealed that the fair broke their highest daily attendance record on Tuesday, Oct. 7, for the first time since 2011. Besides revealing that achievement, the article goes on to detail how the fair held charities that fairgoers could donate to. WXII-12 reports that attendees of the fair donated nearly 26,000 pounds of food to the Crisis Control Ministry, which is a local poverty and food relief nonprofit here in Forsyth County. WXII-12 also reports fairgoers brought in over 7,500 different school supplies for students and teachers in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools district amidst their financial crisis, which is reported on regularly in the Community Budget Updates page of the WS/FCS website.

Despite lower attendance counts than average within the full ten-day period, the Carolina Classic Fair still broke single-day attendance records for the first time in over a decade, and was able to collect substantial donations from attendees for poverty relief and local school support. This shows the fair’s continuing influence within the community, for both entertainment and uplifting local charity efforts.