PERRY, Ga. — Hurricanes Milton and Helene swept through the southeast over these past few weeks, destroying large parts of Central Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.
Despite that, the Georgia National Fair went on as planned, and many people flocked to the fair for a distraction from the storms.
Terry Mullinex lives in Augusta, Georgia and was hit by Helene. He says his home lost power and still has no internet, and he was worried that Milton would hit him, as well.
“Most people have power back, [and] about 30% have internet but it's coming," he said. "It's gonna take a while to get it back completely clean."
Until then, he says he wants to enjoy the fair. He says he and his family head to Perry for the fair every year.
“Well yeah we always come meet our grandkids down there," he said. "We said, 'We are not gonna let the storm stop us,' so here we are."
Another thing that's braved the weather to attend the fair - Katy Conley's cow exhibit.
“I would say they've had a change in their behavior," Conley said. "They tend to want to stay inside. I had to fight her into the pasture."
Conley shows her cows at the fair and says she is glad to be able to show them this year, despite the weather difficulties.
“I absolutely love showing [the cows]," she said. "I don’t know what I would do if I had lost my animal or didn't have a way to come show - showing is my passion."
Conley she heard some people can't show because of the storms, and some of her friends' cows have been fighting and acting strange since the hurricanes started.
Maggie Lane is the marketing director for the Georgia National Fairgrounds.
She says the hurricanes impacted their operations in the leadup to the fair's opening.
“We went from hunkering down during Hurricane Helene, expecting the worse, to coming out okay luckily," Lane said. "But not many of our neighbors did. Just 40 miles to the east, we had really severe affects from Hurricane Helene. I think initially that has affected attendance."
Now, she says with Hurricane Milton, people have been heading to the fair to get away and not have to think about the effects on their homes.