For as long as he can remember, fair intern Brady West has attended the fair each year with his family. However, as a Senior in high school in 2024, Brady went to the fair with his friends instead. Keep reading for Brady’s memory-worth-making account of a day at the fair.
“We left for the fair around 9 a.m. with my friends Maggie, Matthew, Max, Reese and their parents,” said Brady. When we arrived, we parked in the Cardinal lot and grabbed a shuttle to the fairgrounds.”
“Our first stop was the flower show, specifically the mum tree. My parents always try to get a family picture there each year, so I decided to get a picture with my friends to show my parents when I got home.”
The next stop was for donuts, which was just one of many food stops made during the day. Past the Old Grist Mill near Heritage Circle, there were specialty donuts being sold by a vendor in a white food truck. Of course, that had to be our first food stop of the day. “I got a chocolate peanut butter donut while my friend Maggie got a powdered donut,” said Brady. “She took a single bite of that donut and within seconds, powdered sugar was all over her clothes. We were dusting her off the entire day. Once the donut incident was resolved, my friend’s parents left to do their own activities at the fair.”
“We caught a show further within Heritage Circle, one about various birds such as vultures, parrots and various birds of prey. At the end of the show, the man performing showed a trick where his parrot would take money and put it into a box. My friends and I had to give it a try,” said Brady.
After the bird show, the group grabbed more food at Chester’s Gators & Taters.
“At the Graham Building, we looked at some cows being shown. Out of the back of the building, we also saw some of them getting washed. It was fascinating.”
“We then headed to Got to be N.C. Agriculture Pavilion and N.C. Public House. In front of it, we watched the classic Red Trouser Show, which was my first time viewing it. I was quite impressed.”
“We then decided to play around with some games and rides. We tried to play a water shooting game together, Maggie, Matthew and I, and we all three lost to a small kid playing. Afterward, we rode the large carousel and the Ferris wheel.”
“Dinner was just a blur of fried food. After that, we decided to check out the Hog Diggity Dog Show. There, we saw various tricks from dogs, hogs and camels. That was definitely a highlight.”
On our walk back, we saw a vendor selling henna tattoos, which is basically a painted design that lasts on the body about a month. Matthew, Maggie and I all got matching dinosaur tattoos.
Lastly, to end our day at the Fair, we visited my favorite place: The Village of Yesteryear. There, my friends Max and Maggie saw people they recognized and caught up with them. Not only that, but we watched as a man bent a small steel rod into a ring.
The end of our fair day was wrapping up, so we ended with one final photo.
I really enjoyed my first time at the fair with my friends. It was a memory worth making and a story worth telling.