Perry's November Runs Out of the Agricenter, and Most of It Is Free to Watch
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
The Georgia National Fair has packed up its midway, and the Christmas parade is still five weeks away. In between, the busiest place in Perry is the same Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter that hosted the Fair. For most of November, it costs nothing to get in.
Downtown has one more fall afternoon first. Tomorrow, Friday, October 30, the City of Perry hosts Sweets & Treats in Historic Downtown Perry from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. It's a family afternoon of sweets and stops at downtown businesses. The Downtown Perry Farmers Market keeps its usual schedule, every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 1000 Ball Street. After Sweets & Treats, though, the next big downtown event on the city's events page is November 28. Those weekends get filled at the fairgrounds.
Here is November at the Agricenter, as listed on the GNFA events calendar.
| Dates | Event | Where on the grounds | Spectator cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 5–8 | Southeastern Showdown High School Rodeo | Covered Horse Arena, Horse Barn #1, Reaves Arena | Free |
| Nov 7–8 | Eastman Gun Show | McGill Marketplace | $12 adults, $4 ages 6–12 |
| Nov 11–14 | Georgia National Antique Agriculture Show | Fairgrounds & Agricenter | Free |
| Nov 12–14 | Perry GA Auto Fair | Carnival Midway | $10, free 12 and under with an adult |
| Nov 19–22 | Mistletoe Market Perry | Miller-Murphy-Howard Building | $10 general admission |
| Nov 23–30 | Winter Wonderland Cluster Dog Show | Covered Horse Arena, Georgia Grown Building, Heritage Hall, Roquemore Conference Center | Free |
The three ticketed events are short, nine days combined. The three free ones cover 16 of the month's 30 days. That includes every day of Thanksgiving week. GNFA's own site also says parking for all events is free, so a free event really does cost nothing.
The free events start with a rodeo that needs no planning at all. They end with a dog show whose last Saturday lines up with downtown's tree lighting.
The month opens Thursday, November 5, with the Southeastern Showdown High School Rodeo. It runs through Sunday the 8th, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day. The Georgia High School Rodeo Association hosts, and GNFA describes high school students from eight southeastern states competing. Spectators get in free. The fairgrounds homepage also lists a Southeastern Showdown Junior High School Rodeo for November 6 through 8, which overlaps the high school weekend.
The competition is spread across the Covered Horse Arena, Horse Barn #1 and Reaves Arena. GNFA doesn't say which events run where. With a 12-hour window and no ticket, the easy plan is to drop in for an hour and walk between arenas until something is underway.
The same weekend, the Eastman Gun Show sets up at McGill Marketplace on November 7 and 8. Adults pay $12, children 6 to 12 pay $4, and children under 6 get in free with an adult. That gives two very different crowds on the grounds the same Saturday, so expect more cars than a typical November weekend, even with free parking.
If you only make one trip to the fairgrounds this month, the Georgia National Antique Agriculture Show is the one, Wednesday, November 11, through Saturday the 14th. GNFA's event page promises "Antique tractors, vendors, mini tractor pulls, kids games and more!" and says admission is free.
The show's calendar page has a longer list:
The hours change across the four days, so check them before you leave the house. GNFA's calendar module lists:
As of this week, GNFA says the full schedule is "coming soon," so it hasn't posted which demonstration runs at what hour. Farm Collector's 2026 write-up says general admission is free but some evening events may carry a fee. Check before planning a Saturday night around the concert series. The same article names Hamilton Halford as the show's event director and describes it as a show GNFA developed as part of its own event program.
The second half of the week brings the month's busiest stretch. The Perry GA Auto Fair, an auto swap meet and car show, runs Thursday through Saturday, November 12 to 14, on the Carnival Midway. Admission is $10, and children 12 and under get in free with an adult. Antique tractors and a car swap meet on the grounds the same three days make for one trip with two shows. A family can spend the morning at the free tractor show and pay only for the adults who want to see the cars.
Mistletoe Market Perry is the month's main ticketed event. It runs Thursday, November 19, through Sunday the 22nd in the Miller-Murphy-Howard Building, with 100 shops and vendors. General admission is $10. The opening-night session, Moonlight at Mistletoe on November 19, costs $40 in advance.
It falls the weekend before Thanksgiving, which makes it the first big holiday-shopping event on Perry's calendar, a week ahead of Small Business Saturday downtown. If gift shopping is the goal, Mistletoe Market and the downtown stores are two separate stops with no overlapping dates.
The Winter Wonderland Cluster Dog Show runs eight days, Monday, November 23, through Monday the 30th. The Kennesaw Kennel Club hosts. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and admission is free for spectators. It spreads across four buildings: the Covered Horse Arena, the Georgia Grown Building, Heritage Hall and the Roquemore Conference Center.
Thanksgiving falls on November 26, in the middle of that run. If relatives are in town Thursday through Sunday, a free, indoor outing with set daytime hours is already on the calendar.
Saturday, November 28, is the one day both parts of Perry's calendar are active at once. The dog show runs at the Agricenter until 5:00 p.m. Downtown, the City's Small Business Saturday & Tree Lighting Ceremony runs from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with holiday specials and decorated store windows. At 6:00 p.m., the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony starts on the City Hall Lawn. You can spend the afternoon at the dog show and still make it downtown for the tree lighting.
Downtown has something new this year too. Houston Home Journal reported on October 16 that The Social Joker, a mahjong-and-games parlor, was opening at 736 Carroll St., Suite 14, in The Village Shops. The main entrance is off Main Street and the rear entrance is off Carroll Street. It's a new stop to add to a Small Business Saturday walk.
After the tree lighting, most of Perry's holiday calendar happens downtown:
The fairgrounds keeps a smaller presence. A Pokémon & Sports Card Show is set for December 5, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the Miller-Murphy-Howard Building. That's the same morning as the parade, so a family with a young collector can watch the parade at 10:00 and drive to the Agricenter afterward.
If you're mapping out the Saturdays between now and the parade, the order is rodeo, tractors, Mistletoe Market, then the dog show into the tree lighting. Every event on that list has a 2026 listing with dates and hours you can check before you go.
Perry's November calendar is one we follow every year at the Margie Stachurski Team. If your family is new to Houston County, or you're hosting relatives who are curious about the area over Thanksgiving week, we're always glad to share what's happening around town, from the Agricenter to the City Hall Lawn. Work With Us.
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