Webster County Georgia Ole Tyme Country Fair Festival
Preston, Georgia, is the kind of small county seat where the courthouse still anchors the town and the farmland rolls away in every direction. As the seat of Webster County, Preston has long been the place where a scattered rural county gathers — and the Webster County Georgia Ole Tyme Country Fair Festival is one of the clearest expressions of that habit. The fair is a deliberately old-fashioned affair: handmade goods, country cooking, live music, and games that owe more to the front porch than to the midway.
Webster County sits in west central Georgia, a 210-square-mile stretch of pine, pasture, and peanut land. It is a county of few traffic lights and long memories, and the Ole Tyme Country Fair fits it exactly. This is not a mega-festival with corporate sponsors and gate scanners. It is a community fair in the truest sense — put on by the people who live there, for the people who live there, and for the travelers curious enough to find it.
Webster County Ole Tyme Fair: The Details That Matter
| Town / area | Webster County area, around Preston |
| County | Webster County, Georgia |
| County seat | Preston |
| Population | Small and rural (2020 census) |
| Region | West central Georgia |
| Typical timing | Annual weekend event; confirm the current year’s schedule |
| Admission | Typically free; individual vendors and activities may charge |
| Setting | Rural fairgrounds in the Webster County countryside |
| Signature features | Old-time crafts, country cooking, live music, family games |
| Organizer | Local volunteers and community organizers |
What the Ole Tyme Country Fair Is All About
The fair is built around a simple idea: that the things worth celebrating in a rural Georgia county are the things people make, grow, cook, and play themselves. Booths lean toward handmade rather than mass-produced — quilts, woodwork, jams, preserves, and yard-art oddities — and the entertainment is as likely to be a local band or a singing group as anything booked from out of town.
The name says “ole tyme,” and the fair means it. Expect the trappings of an older county fair — cane grinding, blacksmithing, butter churning — alongside a food truck or two. Children run between the exhibits while neighbors catch up on news they have not heard since the last church supper. For a county this size, the fair is less a tourist attraction than a reunion with a welcome mat out.
How a Webster County Tradition Took Shape Around Preston
Webster County organized its civic life around its courthouse town, as most rural Georgia counties did. Preston, the county seat, became the natural site for markets, court days, and the periodic gatherings that broke up the rhythm of farm work. Fairs grew out of that rhythm.
By the twentieth century, county fairs across the South had settled into a familiar pattern: a harvest-season weekend when families brought their best livestock, their prize preserves, and their children to be judged, fed, and entertained. Webster County’s version evolved with the times. As agriculture changed and the population thinned, the big competitive fairs faded in many places. What survived was the “ole tyme” model — smaller, volunteer-run, and more focused on heritage than on ribbons.
The Ole Tyme Country Fair is the local expression of that survival. It carries forward the old county-fair instinct — gather, show, cook, play, remember — without the scale that would make it impersonal. Its continuity depends on the same people who run the churches, the volunteer fire departments, and the ball fields.
A Day at the Fair: What You’ll See and Do
Expect a relaxed, walkable event where the schedule matters less than the wandering. Most visitors arrive mid-morning, stay through lunch, and drift back in the afternoon for the music. Seating is scattered around the grounds, with shade where the trees allow.
Country Cooking and Fair Food
Food is the center of gravity here. Think the classics of rural Georgia cooking — barbecue, fried fish, boiled peanuts, sausage dogs, funnel cakes, and homemade cakes and pies sold by the slice. Church groups and civic clubs often run the booths, which means the recipes are the ones people actually cook at home. Bring cash for the smaller stands; not every vendor takes a card.
Music and Entertainment on the Grounds
Live music anchors the day — gospel, bluegrass, country, and old-time string bands, often drawn from Webster County and the surrounding counties. Between sets you may find craft demonstrations, storytelling, or a cake walk. The entertainment is unpretentious and family-friendly, and the volume is set so you can still hold a conversation.
Family Activities and Old-Time Fun
The fair leans hard into activities that do not require a screen: games for children, a petting area or pony rides, sack races, and craft tables where kids can make something to take home. Contests — pie baking, produce, preserves, maybe a prettiest chicken category — give the day a friendly competitive edge. Older visitors tend to gravitate to the demonstrations: quilting, carving, and cane syrup making.
Planning a Trip to the Webster County Fair
Webster County is rural, and that shapes every practical decision. Plan as you would for any small-town Georgia weekend: fill the tank before you get close, carry cash, and give yourself more time than the map suggests.
Getting to the Webster County Area
The fair takes place in the Webster County area, with Preston as the natural reference point. Most visitors arrive by car, following state highways through the surrounding farmland. The roads are two-lane and quiet, but they can be slow behind farm equipment — treat that as part of the scenery rather than an obstacle.
Where to Stay Near Preston
Lodging inside Webster County is limited. The practical approach is to base yourself in a larger nearby town and drive in for the day, or to look for a rental cabin or farm stay in the surrounding countryside. Campers and RV travelers often find more options a short drive away. Booking early matters on fair weekend, when the nearest rooms fill.
Parking Around the Fair
Parking at small country fairs is usually a field, a church lot, or a designated patch of grass, with volunteers directing traffic. It is generally free and generally informal. Arrive earlier in the day for the easiest spot, wear shoes you do not mind getting dusty, and note a landmark near your car — the lots are not numbered.
Admission and What Things Cost
Admission is typically free, with money changing hands at the vendor booths, the food stands, and the occasional activity. Bring small bills. If there is a charge for anything — a ride, a raffle ticket, a plate lunch — it is usually modest and goes back into the community.
Weather and What to Wear
West central Georgia runs hot and humid in the warm months and mild in winter, so dress for the season the fair falls in. Comfortable shoes, a hat, sunscreen, and a refillable water bottle cover most scenarios. Afternoon thunderstorms are a familiar Georgia guest, so a light rain jacket earns its place in the bag.
A Sample Weekend Around the Ole Tyme Fair
Saturday morning. Arrive in Preston early and take a slow loop through town before heading to the grounds. Grab a biscuit locally if you can, then walk the vendor rows while they are still uncrowded.
Midday. Eat at the food booths and settle in for the first music set. This is the best window for demonstrations and craft tables, before the afternoon crowd thickens.
Saturday afternoon. Enter a contest if you have brought something to enter, let the kids run the games, and catch the second round of bands. Leave before the last set ends if you want an easy exit from the parking field.
Sunday. Use the morning to explore the countryside — the backroads around Preston, a country church, a working farm stand. Head home with a cooler of local produce and preserves. It is a slow weekend by design, and it rewards being unhurried.
How the Ole Tyme Fair Compares to Nearby Georgia Events
Webster County’s fair is small even by rural Georgia standards, and that is the point. Compared with larger regional festivals, it trades scale for intimacy.
Within the county, communities like Weston and Parrott hold their own small gatherings through the year — church homecomings, ball games, benefit suppers — but the Ole Tyme Country Fair is the countywide occasion, the one that draws from every corner of Webster County.
Further out, larger towns in the surrounding counties host bigger fairs and agricultural festivals with full midways, demolition derbies, and multi-stage lineups. Those events are louder and more commercial, and they offer more for visitors chasing rides and headline acts. The Ole Tyme Country Fair is quieter, cheaper, and closer in feeling to a family reunion. What sets it apart from a generic small-town street festival is its focus on heritage crafts and old-time skills.
A Practical Packing and Prep List for Fair Weekend
Cash in small bills for food, crafts, and raffle tickets.
A refillable water bottle and a hat for the sun.
Sunscreen and insect repellent — this is rural Georgia.
Sturdy, closed-toe shoes for grass, dust, and gravel lots.
A light rain jacket or poncho for afternoon storms.
A folding chair if you plan to sit through the music.
A cooler in the car for produce, preserves, and leftovers.
A fully charged phone and, ideally, a paper map backup.
Patience for two-lane roads and unhurried parking.
Beyond the Fair: Exploring Webster County and Nearby
The fair is a reason to come, but the county rewards a longer look. Webster County is farm country — peanuts, cotton, timber, and pasture — and the backroads around Preston are the attraction. Drive slowly. You will pass country churches with full cemeteries, barns leaning into the wind, and fields that change character with the season.
Preston itself is worth a walk. The courthouse and the small commercial blocks around it tell the story of a county that has always been more rural than urban. Nearby river country offers fishing, paddling, and quiet picnic spots, and larger towns within an hour’s drive provide the restaurants, groceries, and lodging the county itself does not.
The Fair’s Place in Webster County Life
In a county this small, institutions matter more than events. The Ole Tyme Country Fair functions as one of the few occasions each year when the whole county — farmers, retirees, schoolchildren, and the families who have moved away — occupies the same patch of ground at the same time.
That has practical value. Money spent at the booths stays local, often funding churches, scholarships, or volunteer fire departments. It also has cultural value: the fair keeps skills alive that would otherwise fade — quilting, cane grinding, woodworking — by putting them in front of an audience that includes children. For a rural county in west central Georgia, where distances are real and daily life is spread out, a fair is a rare chance to see everyone at once.
Where the Fair Sits in Webster County
The Webster County Georgia Ole Tyme Country Fair takes place in the Webster County area of west central Georgia, with Preston — the county seat — as the nearest town and the practical landmark for visitors.
Answers for First-Time Fairgoers
Is the Ole Tyme Country Fair free to attend?
Admission is typically free, with costs limited to what you choose to buy — food, crafts, and any activity fees. Bring cash, since smaller vendors may not accept cards.
When is the fair held?
The fair is an annual event, and the timing is set by its organizers each year. Check the current schedule before you plan a trip, and treat the fair weekend as the anchor for a longer visit to Webster County.
Is the fair good for children?
Yes. The Ole Tyme Country Fair is built for families, with games, craft tables, animals, and plenty of space to run. The atmosphere is relaxed and the crowds are modest compared with larger regional fairs.
What should I know before driving out?
Webster County is rural. Fuel up before you arrive, expect two-lane roads, and allow extra travel time. Lodging is limited locally, so book early or plan to stay in a nearby larger town.
What’s Next for the Ole Tyme Country Fair
Small rural fairs survive on volunteer energy, and the Ole Tyme Country Fair is no exception. Its future depends on the same things that have sustained it so far: local families willing to organize, vendors willing to set up, and visitors willing to show up. The trend across rural Georgia is toward fewer, more heritage-focused events rather than bigger commercial ones, and this fair is well positioned for that shift.
Expect the essentials to stay put — the food, the music, the crafts, the reunion feeling. If anything changes, it will likely be in the details: a wider mix of vendors, a renewed push to involve younger families, and more attention to the traditional skills that give the fair its name.
Last updated: October 2026
If you are looking for a festival with a Ferris wheel and a headline act, Webster County is not the trip. If you are looking for a Saturday where the food is homemade, the music is live, and the person next to you has known your family for three generations, the Ole Tyme Country Fair is exactly the trip. Come to Preston, follow the signs, and let the county show you what it has been keeping.
