Officials with the Georgia State Fair said having a fall version of the event beginning next weekend in Hampton won’t have any impact on the fair held in Macon each spring.

Mark Lovell, president and CEO of Universal Fairs, which owns and operates the Georgia State Fair, said the decision to hold a second Georgia State Fair at the Atlanta Motor Speedway from Oct. 26 to Nov. 4 has little to do with the fair held in Macon, except to expand the brand.

“That’s what we do,” Lovell said.

Lovell said the new state fair will feature acts such as country singer Dustin Lynch and rock band Jefferson Starship, plus “a lot of great attractions, great rides and fair food.”

Universal Fairs bought out the Georgia State Fair in November 2011 and operated its first fair last May. Organizers said the fair drew about 40,000 people, which was better than the previous two fairs but short of the 50,000 for which they had been hoping.

Lovell said organizers are busy planning for the state fair in Macon next spring.

The Hampton fair will be starting less than two weeks after the Georgia National Fair ended in Perry. That fair drew its second-best attendance ever with more than 445,000.

Lovell said he wasn’t concerned with operating his fair so close to the Georgia National Fair.

“We don’t worry about anything,” he said. “We just do what we do.”

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.