What a ride it’s been! Gregg County Fair returns to Longview for 75th year | Local News

On Sept. 18, 1949, the first page of Section 2 of the Longview Sunday News-Journal gave top billing to the anticipated return of an event that had been absent from the city for years.

“Plans for Gregg County’s first fair since before the war are being completed with the event slated for the week of Oct. 17 to 22 at the Longview Fair Grounds,” the article says. “During the next week, all interested exhibitors have been asked to contact the Gregg County Fair Committee of the Longview Junior Chamber of Commerce in the C of C building since exhibit space is limited.”

Also known as the Longview Jaycees, that same group is celebrating the event’s 75th anniversary at the same place where it all started and has been held each fall since (with a COVID-19 break, of course, in 2020.) The article said the Jaycees were being assisted by the Breeder-Feeder association, Future Farmers of America, 4-H clubs and women’s organizations.

The Gregg County Fair begins at 6 p.m. Sept. 6 and continues each evening through Sept. 14 at the Longview Fairgrounds, with carnival rides, food, concerts, vendors and other entertainment. The Miss Gregg County pageant is set 9 p.m. Sept. 12, with contestants from local high schools.

“It’s one of the oldest programs in our community,” Billy Clay said this week.

Clay said he has been the Jaycees’ general manager of the fair since 1980. He also oversee the Jaycees’ regular Trade Days on the second full weekend each month, also at the same location as the fair at 1123 Jaycee Drive. The Jaycees today have about 20 members, he said, and use proceeds from the organization’s events to support different youth activities around Longview.

“It takes all the nonprofits to make Longview a better place,” Clay said.

It would be hard to find someone better suited for the job, considering that Clay’s father owned a traveling carnival that he would help assemble when he was child.

“I enjoy it,” Clay said of organizing the fair each years. And he suggested people not look down on the people who run the rides at the fair, reminding fair-goers that it’s something that he and his family did.

This year, new rides include the Charlie Chopper, with helicopters that gently spin around a tall pole for younger children. The Ring of Fire is a roller coaster that spins in a loop. In the Drop Zone, groups of seatbelted riders fall quickly down a tower. (It’s similar to a smaller version of Six Flags’ Cliffhanger ride.)

Considering his long tenure as the fair manager, Clay said there have been years he’s thought about stepping down.

“You get tired,” he said, but all it takes is “seeing one kid walk out of the gate with a smile on their face,” and he’s ready to do it all over again.

“It’s a fun deal for everybody,” Clay said.

For more information, including prices, hours and a complete schedule, visit tinyurl.com/yzjztycw .