Tuesday afternoon may be the only day allowing the sun to shine this week, but within the first two hours, over 250 tickets were sold, not including the children tugging on their parent’s hand walking though the gate.

“I’ve been coming here since I was my kids’ age,” said Cayce Williams, a mother of toddler-age twins. “I’ve always liked coming to it.”

Williams and the rest of her family were on the look-out for another kid-friendly ride for them to be able get on with their children.

The opening night of the fair was a success, according to Rena Marshall, manager of the fair and Lion’s Club member.

The fairgrounds transformed from a rain-soaked vacant lot on Monday to a full-fledged county fair by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, with a mix of carnival rides and games for all ages.

Those at the fair were lined up to walk through a haunted house, play darts to win a stuffed animal, throw baseballs at a dunking booth to drop a heckling carnival employee in water, among several others.

The blue ribbon winners and runner-ups were displayed in the exhibit hall for fair-goers to view as they walked by and into the main area of the fair, where the rides, games and food was located.

The fair also offered funnel cakes, hot dogs and hamburgers, lemonade stands and other carnival staple foods.

“It really turned out to be a beautiful day,” Marshall said. “We’ve had a pretty good flow.”

The flow of people coming into the fair was strong, according to Marshall, but the rest of the week is still a mystery due to the rain and colder temperatures.

Throughout the rest of the week, the fair will host live music on the main stage to those in attendance, ranging from gospel, shag, county and western music.

The fair is running through Saturday night and will operate from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. during the week and on Saturday will run from 2 p.m. until 11 p.m.

The fairgrounds are located at the intersection of Highway 38 and Highway 74 in Hamlet.

Tickets are $3 at the gate and children under six get in for free.

For more information on the fair, contact the Lions Club at 582-4586.

n Staff writer Bryan Stewart can be reached at 997-3111 ext. 15, or by e-mail at bstewart@yourdailyjournal.com