Eating across the Georgia National Fair with pork belly cones, apple fries and more

Fair food has a reputation to maintain. It’s often deep-fried and oversized with classic offerings like funnel cakes all the way to unexpected concoctions like a peach cobbler corn dog.

Since the Georgia National Fair only comes around once a year, and lasts for just 11 days from Oct. 8-18, calories don’t count at the fairgrounds.

This year, those who are planning to make the drive to Perry can expect a slew of trendy and decadent food items, from buckets of cookies to towers of apple fries and ice cream.

What is the Georgia National Fair?

In their earliest forms, state fairs began as agricultural competitions where state farmers could showcase their livestock. The first state fair took place in Syracuse, New York, in 1841. A few years later, it gained attractions that went beyond animal exhibits, and these fairs became a place to showcase a state’s culture, crafts and fried food on a stick, according to History.com.

The Georgia National Fair found its start in 1990, several years after the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter was established in Perry. The fairgrounds were initially created to give youth organizations a better facility to showcase their livestock. That very first fair’s theme was Georgia Magic, and it featured clowns, magicians, a petting zoo, racing pigs and the Budweiser Clydesdale horses.

While the current fair includes attractions, rides and exciting food vendors, it still serves as a major agricultural exposition showcasing the state’s agribusiness, with livestock competitions, a llama show, a rabbit show and a home and fine arts display.

What to eat at the Georgia National Fair

Besides an extensive list of vendors with treats and pantry items, the Georgia National Fair has dozens of food stands offering everything from classic funnel cakes to more innovative items.

New food items this year include Mr. Cookie Dough, a stand that will be offering buckets of chocolate chip cookies. This will be Peter Regalado’s second year at the Georgia National Fair after he set up for the first time last year with his other food stand, Mr. Pork Belly, which serves paper cones full of crisp pork belly.

Regalado is based in Miami where he runs one of the largest Cuban events in the city, he said. Five years ago, he started selling food at his own events as a hobby. The Miami-Dade County Fair asked him to bring the food to its fair, and Regalado said they’ve been applying to more fairs ever since.

He decided to bring cookies to the fair simply because “my son loves cookies,” Regalado said. The cookie bucket includes about 13 to 14 two-ounce cookies.

Mr. Pork Belly, on the other hand, is a “very Cuban product,” he said. They fry the diced chunks of pork belly fresh at the fair.

“A lot of people ask, ‘What is that?’ I tell them, it’s just a big bacon,” he said with a laugh. “It’s basically a big, juicy bacon, but it’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, so people love it.”

Regalado said he loves coming to the Georgia National Fair, which is one of the more welcoming fairs he has been to. As a people person, getting to travel around and meet so many different people outside of Miami is one of his favorite parts of the business.

For those looking to eat a more health-conscious meal, head over to Griff’s Veggies, where you might find vegetables like Brussels sprouts, artichokes and onions. Of course, it’s all fried.

“They say you need to eat your vegetables and eat healthy, so might as well deep fry ‘em,” owner Gabriella Tanner said.

Tanner’s family has been working in the carnival and fair industry for five generations. Her dad’s family started with traveling side shows and oddities, which later evolved into the magic maze and glass houses, and over the years they’ve continued adapting to the next venture.

Tanner started running Griff’s Veggies about 10 years ago, and while it can be frustrating some days, such as when it pours rain or the deep fryer breaks down, she says she enjoys traveling around the country and getting to work alongside her family, who all run different stands at the fair.

Tanner has been a vendor at the Georgia National Fair for about six years, and every year she plans something new and exciting, like a loaded blooming onion or fried avocado. This year, she’ll be bringing deep fried, skewered mushrooms stuffed with jalapeno cream cheese and served with a horseradish type of dipping sauce.

“It’s fun because you can take something classic that you’ve always done and then add a spin to it, and sometimes it’s a real hit,” she said.

Tanner is based out of the Tampa Bay area, but she’s on the road for about nine months out of the year.

“I do look forward to this fair every year,” she said. “You develop relationships with people in the community and the surrounding area, and you also have your fellow concessioners and friends.”

If fried mushrooms and pork belly cones aren’t enough to fill you up, round out the meal with dessert at the Apple Fries stand.

Cary Seaholm and her husband started their concession, Apple Fries, eight years ago, and this is their second time at the Georgia National Fair, where they will be set up near the fair’s East Gate by the clock tower.

Seaholm’s apple fries are made with Granny Smith apples that they batter and fry so they have a crisp outside and soft interior. They can be topped with a variety of items, including Ghirardelli caramel, ice cream or even bacon, Seaholm said on the phone while driving from Massachusetts to Georgia.

“You go to the fair to eat like, fried butter, and just all kinds of craziness, and so people can’t make these things at home,” Seaholm said. “When you go to the fair, you’re going not only for the experience of family and memories and all the wonderful things the fair has to offer, but you’re also going to try different foods that you can’t normally get.”

What to know about the Georgia National Fair Food Fight

It wouldn’t be a fair without some competition.

The Georgia National Fair Food Fight has been running for five years, and it encourages the food vendors to come up with new and unique items to serve each year. The vendors will compete to win in the savory, sweet or the fan favorite category.

There are nine judges, including figures like former University of Georgia football player Jake Fromm, Miss Georgia winner Sophia Wootten, Perry Chamber of Commerce president Maggie Schuyler and WGXA news reporter Joshua Harrison-Williams.

The judges will score each food item based on a rubric, then those scores are added up to declare winners in both savory and sweet categories.

Fair attendees can also weigh in by scanning QR codes at participating food vendors to vote for their fan favorite.

Previous winners will be returning this year, including Gillette’s Pizza & Lemonade, a family-run business from Brian Gillette that has been operating in the fair scene since 1992 and at the Georgia National Fair for at least 30 years, Gillette said.

Their pickle pizzas will be available again this year, which have become super popular, he said. Last year, they went through 65 five-gallon buckets of pickles at the Georgia National Fair. They’ll be bringing a new pizza creation to compete in the Fair Food Fight — the Red, White & Brew which features their homemade pizza dough topped with sausage, bacon and ground beef and is doused in smooth beer cheese.

In 2025, the Tybee Island Dog from Swift Concessions won in the savory category; the Cookie Butter Sandwich Extravaganza from Polar Bear Ice Cream won in the sweet category; and the Death by Chocolate Mini Donuts from the Donut Family won the people’s choice.