The Cumming Country Fair & Festival returns to the Cumming Fairgrounds at 235 Castleberry Road from Oct. 8 to Oct. 18. The posted gate price is $10 for ages 11 and up, and kids 10 and under get in free. That $10 is the baseline, and on many days of the run you won't pay it. The 2026 brochure gives every day its own admission deal, ride wristband price and lineup of arena acts. Over 11 days, a household can pay full price, pay nothing or end up somewhere in between, depending only on the date.
The fair has been around long enough that the local calendar is built around it. Forsyth County News records trace the first Cumming Country Fair & Festival to 1995. The City of Cumming runs it through its own Cumming Fairgrounds department, which is separate from Recreation and Parks. Since this is a city event, it also shares the month with the free programming at Cumming City Center a short drive away. That overlap is the second reason to pick your fair date carefully.
Who gets in free, and when
The brochure splits the free admission by audience and by day. Here are the days the fair has set aside:
| Date | Who it's for | What the brochure lists |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 8, opening day | Everyone | Free admission courtesy of Northside Hospital Forsyth; $25 unlimited-ride wristband; 406 FMX in the arena at 6 and 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Early arrivals | Free admission and rides 10 to 11 a.m., then a $35 wristband from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., good until close |
| Sun., Oct. 11, Senior Citizen Day | Ages 55 and over | Free admission for 55+; sensory-friendly riding 2 to 4 p.m. with no lights, no music, no crowds; free admission and rides 12:30 to 2 p.m. with the school coupon for ages 18 and under |
| Mon., Oct. 12, Student Night | Ages 18 and under | Free admission; $25 wristband |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Early arrivals | Free admission and rides 10 to 11 a.m., then the $35 wristband from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 18, Hero's Day | Military, law enforcement, firefighters, first responders | Free admission with valid ID for active, reserve or retired military, veterans, law enforcement, firefighters and first responders; 12:30 to 2 p.m. school-coupon hour; $30 "Last Blast" wristband |
On both Sundays, seven non-perishable canned goods also get you one free admission. The table shows that the free days aren't spread evenly. Each one goes to a different group. A grandparent's best day is Oct. 11, a high schooler's is Oct. 12, a firefighter's is Oct. 18, and the opening Thursday is free for everyone. A family that mixes those groups could split one fair into two or three short visits for about what a single full-price night would cost.
The Oct. 11 sensory-friendly window is the most specific accommodation on the schedule. The brochure describes it as two hours of rides with no lights, no music and no crowds. For a family that would otherwise skip the midway entirely, that's the one afternoon built for them.
When a wristband beats a strip of tickets
Admission gets you onto the grounds. Rides cost extra, and the fair sells two ways to pay. Loose tickets cost $1.25 each, $20 for 21, $50 for 55 or $100 for 120, and every ride takes more than one ticket. The other option is the Pay One Price wristband, and its price changes with the day.
- $25 on several weeknights, including opening day, Student Night on Monday, Oct. 12, and Tuesday, Oct. 13.
- $30 on Friday, Oct. 16, on Senior Citizen Day, and as the Last Blast on closing Sunday.
- $35 on the Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., good until close.
The $20 strip of 21 tickets is the useful comparison. Since every ride takes several tickets, a strip covers only a handful of rides. For $5 more on a $25 night, the wristband removes the limit. So the weeknight $25 wristband is the best ride deal of the run, and it costs $10 less than the Saturday version. A rider under 18 who goes on Student Night pays nothing at the gate and $25 for unlimited rides. On a Saturday afternoon, the same kid pays $10 to get in and $35 to ride.
The Saturday price buys something the weeknights don't, which is time. From Monday through Thursday, the gates open at 4 p.m. and close at 10. Saturdays run from 10 a.m. to midnight. A wristband bought at 11 a.m. on Saturday and used until close covers about twice as many hours as a $25 Monday-through-Thursday wristband bought at the 4 p.m. opening.
The weeknight schedule runs like a timetable
Admission includes the entertainment and ground acts. From Monday through Thursday, those acts are packed into a six-hour window, so it helps to plan an evening around them. On Monday through Friday, the Zerbini Family Circus performs under its 1,200-seat Big Top at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Rosaire's Royal Racers run pig races at 5, 7 and 9 p.m. Jay Mattioli's Electrifying Magic is at 6 and 8 p.m. The Ready, Go Dog Show, with Frisbee dogs, diving dogs and a box-jump act, goes on at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Here's one weeknight order that catches the main acts without backtracking:
- Arrive at 4 p.m. when the gate opens and visit the North Georgia Petting Zoo, which is open whenever the fair is.
- Watch the pig races at 5 p.m., then walk to the Big Top for the 5:30 circus.
- Catch the Heritage Village saw mill at 7:30 p.m. or the second circus show, then the 8:30 dog show.
- If you're going to the haunted attraction, get in line by 9 p.m.
The Four Scythes Haunted Attraction has a new theme and new scares this year. Tickets are $20, sold separately from fair admission, onsite or online, and proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society and other local charities. It runs 7 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 6 to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The brochure also notes that the fairground entry gate closes one hour before closing time.
If you want to see the full Heritage Village, go on a weekend. The cotton gin runs only on Saturdays at 4 and 6 p.m., and the Native Indian Village is open all day on Saturdays and Sundays only. The reproduction turn-of-the-century town includes a one-room schoolhouse, a general store, a cider press and vintage steam engines. It's easiest to fit in on a weekend afternoon, when the circus also adds a 2 p.m. show.
The arena headliners change through the run. 406 FMX rides on opening night, and the American Bullriders Tour takes over at 8 p.m. on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17 and at 6 p.m. on closing Sunday. Micro Wrestling is listed at 7 and 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.
Oct. 10 is where the two calendars collide
Cumming City Center has a full October of its own, and every event on it is free. The busiest overlap with the fair is Saturday, Oct. 10. That morning has the fair's free 10 to 11 a.m. hour. The same day, the City has listed a free Georgia vs. Alabama watch party at Lou Sobh Amphitheater.
Check the timing before you build a day around both. Georgia Athletics announced on Sept. 28 that the game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The City's event listing still shows noon to 7 p.m. and says "Time TBA." If those hours don't get updated, the amphitheater party would end half an hour before kickoff. Look at the listing again that week.
Tavern off the Green offers another option for game night. The sports bar at 400 Vision Drive in City Center started regular service in September after preview nights, and it now runs seven days a week with reservations. It has more than 40 televisions and a large central screen. On Oct. 10, you could do the free fair hour in the morning, go home in the afternoon and book a table at the Tavern for the 7:30 kickoff.
The rest of City Center's October lines up around the fair:
- Oct. 2 and Oct. 3. Pandora's Box, then The Dave Matthews Tribute Band, both 7 to 9 p.m. at Lou Sobh Amphitheater, the weekend before the fair opens.
- Oct. 16. The third annual Community Touch-A-Truck, 1 to 4 p.m., finishing before the fair's 4 p.m. Friday opening and that night's Bullriders show.
- Oct. 22. The Haunted Cruise-In, 6 to 8 p.m., with classic cars handing out candy.
- Oct. 24. The fourth annual Howl-oween, 4 to 8 p.m., followed by "Addams Family Values" on the lawn at 8 p.m.
Dogs are the biggest practical difference between the two venues. The fair bans pets, coolers and alcohol. City Center's amphitheater events welcome friendly leashed dogs. Howl-oween is a pet-friendly trick-or-treat with adoptable pets and vendors. So a household with a dog gets its Halloween outing on Oct. 24, after the fair has closed.
Getting to Castleberry Road
The brochure's directions are to take GA-400 north to Exit 15 at Bald Ridge Marina Road, turn left, go straight through four lights, turn left onto Hwy 20 East at the fifth, and then turn right onto Castleberry Road at the first light. The fairgrounds are on the right, and parking is free. Bring cash or plan on using the ATMs on site, and remember there's no re-entry once you leave.
Parking near the fairgrounds may look different in future years. In June, the City Council approved a $658,110 bid to demolish a building and build a new parking lot on Castleberry Road across from the fairgrounds, meant for fair patrons and other events. Appen Media reported that the former police building was torn down in early July, with green space next to the lot planned as a pocket park. The City materials reviewed by North Atlanta Star gave no completion date, so plan your parking without counting on the new lot this October.
If your route takes you farther out Castleberry, there's a new stop at Bethelview Road. A Chick-fil-A opens at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 5580 Wren St., the first major restaurant to open at the Southard Exchange development. Maepole is building its first drive-thru location in the same center and is aiming for late 2026. Shake Shack is also planned there, but no opening date has been announced.
The fair puts a lot of Cumming's October on Castleberry Road, and a lot of North Metro Atlanta homeowners' fall plans depend on what's happening nearby, from a new parking lot to a new shopping center. If you'd like a local read on how those changes affect your part of Forsyth County, Christy Smith is happy to talk it through over coffee, whether that's before the fair, after it or on a free Saturday morning. Let's Connect.
