Local folks do well at the NC state fair

By Maurice Emery
Editor Emeritus

Almost 900,000 North Carolinians made the State Fair their must see destination this year. Fair planners may not have made their one million target attendance, but they did set a new ten day attendance record at 846,724. Fair officials were pleased that for the first time attendance records were broken on four days of the event. They also had 116 rides which made it the largest midway to date.

The day the Observer visited the fair the attendance was 75,746 which was not even close to the record attendance of 109,077 for the day. It was also Military Appreciation Day which allowed active duty military and National Guard members along with their spouses and four visitors to get in free.  

Kids from toddlers to seniors found something to enjoy at the fair.  Several water rides helped keep people cool. There was plenty of shade for quick stops to rest.  Or for longer stops to people watch.  

The fair is the best people watching place in the area. The smiles on the faces of excited kids is always a Kodak moment. It is just as enjoyable to watch the seniors smiling and pointing out the various events, rides and naturally the food vendors.

There were 175 food vendors for almost any fair food you have on your mind. Funnel cakes, roasted corn on the cob, corn dogs, hamburgers and Italian sausage with green peppers were all available. There were several candy vendors including fudge, deep fried candy bars and the old favorite’s candy and caramel apples.

The fair generally is an introduction to fall, but this year it felt more like the introduction to summer.  That didn’t stop anyone from enjoying themselves. Once you got on the grounds and started enjoying yourself the event itself made it feel like fall was here. 

As you walked around and visited the various exhibits you were able to see the work of farmers and future farmers throughout the complex. Entertainers performed all over the fairgrounds. You could find stilt walking comedians, jugglers and the stone like performance of Statue Viva. 

The look on everyone’s face when they watched a live statue ever so slowly moving from one pose to another was just as much fun as watching the statue. The statue performer did not change her facial expressions; she was just a live marble looking statue performing for the crowd.    

Dorton Arena was the home for many of the top acts from North Carolina and other areas of the country.  Two North Carolinian acts, Kellie Pickler and Daughtry from American Idol, were on hand. 

State fairs are known for the competitions they hold. The North Carolina State Fair is no different.  People prepare all year for their one moment to shine. There were 2,149 entries in the horticulture competitions, such as fruits and vegetables, despite the drought.

Halifax and Warren county residents provided winners in several categories. Littleton was well represented in this year’s competition. Littleton provided winners in several non livestock categories.  Mary Ann Stanford Terrieu took two first places in the professional decorative painting categories and a second place in the non professional gourds-bowls, vases and pottery category.

Jill P. Russo took a second place in the professional decorative painting category. Luccile M. Pedersen took a second place in the professional woodworked toy category. 

Charlotte Wright took a second place in the non professional gourds and miscellaneous category. 

The record state pumpkin at 1,178.9 pounds grown by Sam Lovelace of Sparta, N.C., was on display in the Expo Center. Placed on the same display were the second and third place entrees, each were over 400 pounds. 

You could find almost any vegetable or fruit you could think of in competition. There were three seven pound plus sweet potatoes. There were also several crafts made from fresh vegetables. 

For all the city people who wanted to check out farm life they had plenty of animals for everyone’s enjoyment. The closer you got to the Jim Graham Building, Kelley Building and the Expo Center the stronger the smell of farm life became. 

The Exposition Center was home to the animals involved in State Fair livestock competitions. Fairgoers were able to walk around and see beef and dairy cattle, goats, hogs, sheep, pigmy goats, donkeys and horses. There were caution signs throughout the exhibit. The one for the horses read, Horses will bite, DO NOT feed your fingers to the horses.   

Watching youngsters milking a cow was a show in itself. One little girl was more excited watching the milk shoot out of the cow than she was in making it happen. 

The fair made it easy for seniors and handicap people to enjoy by having motorized and non motorized scooters and chairs available. This reporter spent the day on a motorized cart and was able to go almost anywhere.

There were exhibits for old farm machinery, The Village of Yesteryear, the children’s barnyard, the Flower and Garden Show, and hobbies and crafts. 

The hobbies and crafts exhibit included hand made furniture that reflected the hours of craftsmanship it took to make the various pieces. The winning best of show piece was an early American round lamp table.

The only problem with the state fair is that it is so big it takes more than one day to see and enjoy everything even on motorized scooter. 

This year’s state fair is over, but you can make plans now for your visit next year.