Much of the appeal of attending the Cumming Country Fair & Festival is the novelty of the experience. There’s only one opportunity every year in the area to enjoy the kind of games, rides and daily attractions that highlight the event.

And the same could be said of the abundance of food at the fair. The event attracts a unique collection of culinary choices that’s only available in one location once a year.

To help you make the most of it, here are six essential fair foods to try (and a few extras to consider, too).

Turkey leg

Spivey’s Southern Grill has been a vendor at the fair since it started in 1995, and although they offer a variety of options (hot dogs, sandwiches, etc.) people really come to them for the turkey legs that are served sizzling hot off the grill.

Cost: $12

Funnel cake

There are only two places one should find funnel cakes for sale: beach boardwalks and country fairs. Cumming’s fair has a few kiosks around the grounds where you can get one of the first North American fried foods (thank 17th- and 18th-century Pennsylvania Dutch for that).

Cost: $7 (extra $2 for toppings)

Ribbon-cut fries

These aren’t really French fries. These are more like potato chips. But they’re also not quite potato chips. It’s a confusing middle ground that doesn’t matter at all because of how good they taste. The trick is figuring out how to garnish the “fries” with more than a dozen toppings to choose from.

Cost: $8

Homemade ice cream

John and Charlene Staton have been making ice cream the old-fashioned way at the fair for the last 18 years using a 5-horsepower engine like those used in the early 1900s. John works the engine, Charlene creates the recipes, and they keep things simple with just four flavors: chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and, their most popular, peach.

Cost: $5 with waffle cone

Fried Oreos

The fair is the correct and only place for foods not customarily fried to be fried. And if a fair doesn’t offer such options, it should not be permitted to exist. Thankfully, Cumming’s fair has one of the most delicious possibilities using the classic crème-filled sandwich cookie.

Cost: $7 for five

Lemonade

How else are you supposed to stay properly hydrated at the fair? With water?! Come on! Nothing supplies the jolt needed for that last hours of riding rides and playing games as lemonade squeezed right in front of you.

Cost: $3