The Carolina Classic Fair, formerly the Dixie Classic Fair, is an annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

held in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The fair takes place every autumn on the

Winston-Salem Fairgrounds The Winston-Salem Fairgrounds (previously known as the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds) was a dirt oval track racing, oval track spanning in addition to its primary purpose as a fairground. During the times of the year that it wasn't expected to host ...

(formerly the Forsyth County Fairgrounds), which is part of the

Winston-Salem Entertainment-Sports Complex The Winston-Salem Entertainment-Sports Complex is a group of arenas, sports venues, and entertainment venues in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The complex consists of six structures, five of which are found in the same area along De ...

; the grounds are next to the

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (also known as LJVM Coliseum, Joel Coliseum or simply The Joel) is a 14,407-seat multi-purpose arena, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Construction on the arena began on April 23, 1987, and it opened ...

. In 2007, 371,219 people attended, setting a record that ranked the fair as the 50th-best-attended in North America. In the state, it has been second only to the

North Carolina State Fair The North Carolina State Fair is an American state fair and agricultural exposition held annually in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1853, the fair is organized by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It attrac ...

in attendance for many years. The fair began in the former town of

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

as a grain exposition in 1882 (2007 was the 125th anniversary). In 1897, the Piedmont Tobacco Fair was started and shortly thereafter the two events merged to form the Winston-Salem Fair. The fair moved to its current fairgrounds in 1952 and changed its name to the "Dixie Classic Fair for Northwest North Carolina" in 1956. Before 2019, the event was most commonly known as just the Dixie Classic Fair. In October 2019, the Winston-Salem City Council voted to change the name because "

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

" was seen as lauding the slave-owning and

secessionist Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. There were no fairs in 1917-18, 1942-45, or 2020.

External links

Carolina Classic Fair official website

References

{{coord, 36.124565, -80.253754, display=title Annual fairs Economy of Winston-Salem, North Carolina Culture of Winston-Salem, North Carolina Fairs in the United States Tourist attractions in Winston-Salem, North Carolina