THE BALLOON MAN

SC’s ‘colored fair’: Marching bands, pecks of corn and the Ferris wheel

 

Photo taken at the SC Colored State Fair - SC State University Library / used with permission
from:  thestate.com
By CAROLYN CLICK
Sunday, Oct. 07, 2012
It seems inconceivable now – a week set aside each autumn for black South Carolinians to attend their own state fair.

But for more than 50 years, the South Carolina State Colored Fair Association operated a separate State Fair, held one week after the annual South Carolina State Fair, which was reserved by custom for white patrons until 1964. After that year, segregated fairs became a thing of the past, relegated to the dustbin of history, along with the eventual demise of separate schools, separate drinking fountains and separate parks and swimming pools.

In the early 20th century, the colored fairs provided a showcase for the upward progression of South Carolina African-Americans, an exhibition of best agricultural practices and a gathering place for farmers, enterprising homemakers, and 4-H members.
It didn’t hurt that the fair boosted its own twinkling midway punctuated by the largest ride, the Ferris wheel.

“The first purpose of the Fair should never be overlooked,” Dr. A.J. Collins, a Columbia dentist and president of the state colored fair association, wrote in the 1960 fair catalog. “It should remain essentially agricultural and provide a meeting place where farmers will enjoy gathering to display their wares and compete together in friendly rivalry.”

And so they came, bringing prize bulls and boars, pecks of corn, oats and rye, and jars of pickles, relishes and jams to display and enter into competitions. There was livestock judging, home demonstrations, a marching band competition, fireworks and, of course, the midway of glorious rides.
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/07/2471673/scs-colored-fair-marching-bands.html#storylink=cpy