It is Friday, October 2, at 2:45 in the afternoon and each minute seems like an hour. You are, of course, waiting to go to the Dixie Classic Fair with your friends after school. It is what has been getting you through this week of educational torture.

“3:40, and then it’s to the Dixie Classic Fair,” you say to your friend.

“You mean the Piedmont Classic Fair,” they reply.

Suddenly, your desire to go eat funnel cakes and ride the Fireball lessens considerably.

This may be a scenario you find yourself in this October or next.

In recent weeks, Winston-Salem Council Member James Taylor has been pushing to change the name of our city’s iconic fair to the Piedmont Classic fair. He says the name Dixie Classic is ‘offensive’ to many, especially in the wake of the horrific, racially-motivated shooting in Charleston earlier this year.

This act, however, cannot be connected to our city’s fair in any way. The Dixie Classic Fair has been a part of our culture for 59 years. Putting everything else aside, the name is a valuable marketing tool, as it is widely recognized as one of the biggest fairs in the country.

Those who find the name offensive are sorely misinformed of the meaning of the word ‘Dixie.’ The word’s origin comes from the Mason-Dixon Line that was the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 18th century. It was the result of a feud between the Penn family (from Pennsylvania) and the Calvert family (from Maryland) over the land. The Mason-Dixon Line was their truce. In time, all the land to the south of the line became known as ‘Dixie Land.’

The term Dixie is no more offensive than Yankee, in fact the two are often seen as a pair.

“I believe that the Dixie Classic fair should always be the Dixie Classic fair; the name is a part of the experience,” junior Joe Faullin said. “I don’t see the connotation to racism.”

Many in Winston feel the same. Flying a Confederate flag on a government building is unacceptable. Changing the name of our fair is overkill.  

“I don’t agree with it,” junior Lars Halverson said. “I would say the name represents the South and our heritage.”

For 133 years there has been a fair in the Winston-Salem area, before there was even a Winston-Salem. It has always been a celebration of our arts integrated society and a time for people of all ages to have fun eating fried Oreos and petting goats.

The Dixie Classic fair has never been a place where racism was condoned or allowed, and everybody is welcome there. The name reflects that spirit, our Southern spirit, which should be celebrated and not punished.