He's been clowning around since he was 2.

Lee Andrews, better known as Lew-E the clown, is also a kid magnet. Children flocked to him as he made his way Sunday through the Georgia State Fair juggling, crafting balloon animals and performing magic tricks.

He was among the fixtures of the weeklong fair, which drew to a close Sunday.

"All these kids here, I get to make them happy," Andrews said. "If you make a connection as a clown with someone when they are young, they'll remember you for years and years and years, and I guess that's what keeps me clowning."

Andrews, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at William Hubbard Middle School in Forsyth, put on his first clown face and overalls at the Butts County Fair 11 years ago after he met Joybell, Sweets, Screwball and Papa - all clowns.

Sometimes Andrews performs for free and other times he's for hire. He works fairs, church festivals, carnivals and birthday parties mostly by word-of-mouth.

His reward comes "when children come and hug me."

For Rustina Harrison, 21, of Ivey, and her 2-year-old daughter, Brianna, who traded turns carting around a giant red stuffed bear through the midway, the fair was all about family.

"It's a family day out," said Harrison, who was joined by her mom and dad, sisters and brothers, aunts and nieces. She said she comes to the fair for the games and "the funnel cake, Italian sausage, cotton candy, caramel apples, everything."

Her dad, Rusty Harrison, a big game hunter, won the bear at one of the shooting games. He said he's been coming to the fair for 20 years.

"We're dedicated to the fair," Harrison said. "It's just a tradition to bring the family. All the kids grew up here."

Emily Thomas of Macon and her boys, Jake, 8, and Logan, 5, were testing their skills at the Baseball Pitch, where the object is to throw a baseball into one of three holes.

Neither of the boys made it but each still received a giant blown-up plastic baseball bat with which they immediately began to swat at each other like dueling swords.

Thomas noted that she paid $3 for each child to play the game, which equated to $6 for the two giant bats.

"That's not bad," Thomas said. "Whether they do good or not, they still won, and I like that."

Patti Thomas, 37, owns the Baseball Pitch and two other midway games. She was putting out stuffed animals earlier in the day.

"I couldn't even begin to tell you how many stuffed animals we have," Thomas said. She said she had just restocked with half a semi-trailer of stuffed animals before coming to the fair.

Richard Johnson was busy running the Balloon Star where the goal was to pierce balloons with darts.

"This is one of the most popular games on the midway," said Johnson, who's been working fairs for 15 years. "Every time you throw the dart you win something."

Matt Davis was manning the 85 foot-tall Giant Wheel, a Ferris wheel, with its 12 boxed compartments each capable of carrying up to four people.

From this vantage point, riders enjoyed a bird's eye view of the carnival and a cool breeze. There was laughter from children, shrieks from passengers on thrill-seeking rides below, couples strolling hand-and-hand through the midway and the smell of fresh-fried funnel cakes wafting through the air.

Davis, who builds and sells houses when he's not working fairs, said he loves the change of pace.

"I enjoy working with the kids and seeing their smiling faces," he said. "I also get to see the country without having to pay for it."