Cullen Baker Fair Update

Special to the Journal-Sun

With little proper protocol and fanfare, we started the town meeting about the upcoming restart of The Cullen Baker Fair. It’s due to kick off early on the traditional first Saturday in November which is Nov. 5, 2022.

With all the buzz around me, you would have thought we were kin to our patriotic forefathers who endured constitutional meetings back in the patriot days of 1776. But this was a simple fair meeting of people interested in bringing back the popular fair.

The ball started rolling some months ago. Now you get the bandwagon feeling something big for Bloomburg is returning.

It’s easy for newcomers to join in the vibes present here. It’s necessary to be a part of this noisy group and do I dare mention have some FUN!?!

Sure, we accomplished lots during the meeting. We got to further define the uniqueness of this fair. It will be like no others. It will be ‘our fair’.

Here are some things we talked about: We now have a Cullen Baker Fair account. It’s not much but it will cover incidentals like thumb tacks and posters until more revenue comes in.

Tourism. Yes, what better is out there? Bloomburg is a tourist hot spot the day of this fair.

Electricity. The town has 24 plug-ins and will need all for this special event. But you must bring your extension cords...a grand total of 100 of them. It’s going to be a busy day, y’all.

If you need to know the location of the town’s many plug-ins, ask Mayor Delores Simmons. She can recite all their locations, even the one “down by the railroad tracks”.

The famous fried pies. $1,300 is needed to kick off that traditional effort.

Donations for the Country Store are coming in. Bring yours to City Hall between the hours of 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. daily.

The gas propane tanks, the iffy weather, where is the best place for a car show?

The shirt sale, photography and the fact we now have plenty sponsors. Yea!

First aid station and kits, trash cans and the phenomenal fact that Price Hardware has offered to donate paint for “anything that needs painting.”

The ifs, ands and buts of a Street Dance the night of the fair, the news that Tim McCasland already has a number of bands lined up, the sewage system, the stalls by the railroad tracks and a need for further checking out this situation.

A booth at The Founder’s Day in Atlanta a suggestion that Bloomburg do a Cullen Baker skit, the reprinting of a vintage cookbook first published for the fair in 1975.

A banner over the town, getting the SWEPCO poles changed, a weekly meeting at the local community center each Thursday night until the fair.

The involved Cornhole Tournament, Cake Walk, food cookouts, kid stuff and the need for a shuttle.

From electrical outlets to the sewage system to what to do in case of inclement weather the nitty gritty of peoples’ driveways...there was much discussion and friendly debate during the meeting...also, a few vital announcements were made.

Clean-up Day for the town has been set for Saturday, Oct. 22.

The next meeting will be Thursday, Aug. 25. Don’t look away, all volunteers are needed and welcomed.