CUMMING -- The bright reds, oranges and pinks of fair tents poked above the food vendors, whose smoke from barbecue, steak and hot dog skillets filled the Cumming Fairgrounds with a meaty aroma.

Families walked hand-in-hand, with screams echoing from the whoosh of the rides.

The 19th Cumming Country Fair & Festival, which opened Thursday, drew crowds from across the state and around the county on opening day.

Two of those in the crowd were Logan Hubert, a Cumming resident, and his grandmother, of Florida.

Though his grandmother said she enjoys the fried fair food, the five-and-a-half year old especially loves the rides.

“I like the bumper cars the best,” Hubert said. “You can bump around to other people and when they bump around it’s kind of fun.”

Other children were drawn to different attractions, an eager “let’s go see the flying squirrels, mommy” resonating through the hubbub of the crowd.

Others smiled with corn dogs in their hands, powdered sugar from funnel cake smeared across their faces.

More, still, showed off their painted arms or faces – some donning butterflies, tigers or superheroes.

The common theme, though, was smiles, emanating from both fairgoers and workers.

“It’s fun. I get to interact with people and the kids,” said Michael Evans, one of the carnies. “I enjoy working with people.”

Evans always tries to give prizes, even if a player doesn’t do well.

“You knock the cup over [and] you get the right color, you win a prize,” he said. “If you don’t, I still give you something for playing. Nobody leaves the game empty-handed.”

Dave Horton, fairgrounds director, was also full of smiles.

“We’re opened up!” he said. “It’s always good to get the gates open and get ‘em in here the first night. At the end of the night we’ll figure out what we have to tweak, but it’s good to get [people] out.”

The fair, he said, has something for everyone.

“I think a lot of your older folks love the Heritage Village because they’re seeing things that their grandparents and great-grandparents did,” Horton said. “The younger generation, they’re hitting the rides full-force; they’re into the spin rides.

“Once we get a little older, we don’t do the spin rides.”

He also said there are always those who come to “overdose” on the fair food.

Anything and everything can be fried — including Oreos and Snickers bars — when it comes to the fair, though boiled peanuts, too, are a staple.

No one left empty Thursday night.

Whether full or food or full of prizes — and at the very least full of smiles — day one of the fair proved a success.

For complete coverage of fair events and offerings, visit forsythnews.com/section/1/article/31174/.