I can’t believe how quickly my first week as an intern with the State Fair has flown by! The next nine weeks will probably move just as fast, and I already know that I’m going to miss this place when the summer comes to a close.
I came into this internship with a love for the fair, but without a whole lot of knowledge about its planning process or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Before now, the only exposure I’ve really had to the department was just from going to the State Fair and the Got to Be NC Festival. Since I moved to North Carolina in 2005, my family has made going to the fair every year a tradition. I’m lucky enough to go several times each year: once with my parents, and a few times with my friends. I love going to the fair with different people because we all have our own fair-activity habits that we do together, like my dad and I riding the Tilt-A-Whirl every year and squeezing into a Ferris wheel gondola with my best friends. But also through those different people, and their own favorite parts of the fair, I discover something new every time. I’d never tried the apple cider slushies or frozen bananas until my friends suggested them, and now they’re both fair food favorites of mine.
Selfie with the sock monkey I won from a midway game. I was very excited!
Some friends and I after a fun night of fair festivities
Although I love trying new things, there are certain things I have to do every year at the fair, like eat fried Oreos, ride some rides (OK, maybe not in that order…), meander my way through the booths and snatch up as many freebies as possible, check out all the farm animals and prize-winning produce, and visit The Village of Yesteryear. My love for The Village of Yesteryear was only strengthened last year when one of the vendors was selling corn-husk dolls of “Wizard of Oz” characters. “The Wizard of Oz” is my favorite movie of all time, so of course I had to buy the Dorothy doll! I also love the pig races, the stunt show, the fireworks … all of it! And I’m so excited to be a part of it all this year.
Here I am eating my favorite fair food, fried Oreos!
The Deep Fried team is catching me up quickly and I’m already learning so much about the State Fair, the department and what it’s like to work in public affairs. I can’t wait to see how much I’ll have learned by the end of these 10 weeks.
During the past week, I’ve started a high school advertising campaign, written two blog posts, visited the Raleigh Farmers Market for the first time and even cheered on N.C. legislators competing in a milk-chugging competition outside the N.C. General Assembly. You can read the blog post I wrote about the event and view photos of it here.
Working with the Deep Fried Crew and getting a behind-the-scenes look at all that goes into my favorite October event is making me so excited for this year’s fair! I hope the Deep Fried blog is making y’all excited, too. Keep checking this blog for more updates on The October Original, the N.C. State Fair, and the next 134 days will go by in no time!
