If you’re looking for a showcase of some of North Carolina’s very own products at the N.C. State Fair, you have to check out the “Got To Be NC” exhibit tent. This year’s tent will be packed with 34 vendors from 24 cities or towns across the state. Six of the vendors are new this year, while at least five returning vendors promise to have new or updated products in their booths.
Many vendors will be in the exhibit tent for either the first or second half of the fair, but eight vendors will be there all 11 days. You’ll be able to find everything from hand-poured candles, to ice cream and t-shirts. There will be lots of food products, including fudge, sauces, snacks, cakes and other baked goods, and even honey and spices – all sold by North Carolina companies.
New vendors are noted in the lists below. Here are just a few of the new products we expect for 2019:
- Bob’s Smokin’ Southern BBQ will introduce Bob’s No.1 Eastern Carolina Vinegar Sauce and Bob’s No. 8 All Purpose Rub Seasoning.
- Harvest Time Foods will introduce microwaveable pork rinds, Anne’s Molasses, Anne’s “The One” Cocktail Sauce and Maple Butter.
- Two Roosters Ice Cream will have six new flavors for the fair:
- Funnel Cake – the Fair classic re-imagined into ice cream form with a funnel cake base and powdered sugar glaze
- Corn on the cob and caramel – They cook down a fresh corn base with butter, salt, cream and add a ripple of caramel for fun
- Pizza – Think cheese pizza, but ice cream
- Chicken and waffles – A sweet, golden waffle base with chicken caramel sauce and specks of baked chicken skins
- Cotton Candy – A straightforward cotton candy flavor with layers of spun cotton candy sugar
- Fried Apple Dough – They blend up fresh fried apple dough into their base and toss in chunks of dough for texture
- Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream will have Pumpkin Spice and Fall Apple Strudel flavors in addition to old favorites.
- Mackey’s Ferry Peanuts has created a new variation of trail mix for the fair, plus some Sea Salt Sprinkled Dark Chocolate Pecans and Peanuts.
Vendors for Oct. 17-27 (the entire length of the fair)
- Got To Be NC Store
- NC Fudge (Rougemont) ncfudge.com – Variety of homemade fudge
- Black Dog Gourmet (Greensboro) – BBQ sauce, hot sauce, seasonings
- 4 Fosters Candles (Clemmons) 4fosterscandleco.com – Hand poured candles & wax melts
- Mackey’s Ferry Peanuts (Jamesville) mfpnuts.com – Peanuts, chocolate covered peanuts, cookies, peanut butter, fudge
- Two Roosters Ice Cream (Raleigh) tworoosters.com – Ice cream, handmade cookies sold individually or as an ice cream sandwich
- Pass the Gravy (Raleigh) passthegravy.com – Pass the Gravy brand t-shirts
- Farrell Farms (Goldsboro) farrellfarms.com –Nut snacks, cheese straws, pub mixes
Vendors for Oct. 17-22 only
- Harvest Time Foods (Ayden) annesdumplings.com – Sauces, dressings, molasses, corn meal, grits, maple butter, meat bases, dumplings, cookies (sampling with hot dogs and grits)
- Le Bleu Corporation (Advance) lebleu.com – Le Bleu bottled water. Mighty Muscadine grape juice
- Kimbees, Inc. (Gastonia) kimbees.com – Boxed teas
- Spicer’s Sauces* (Denton) spicerssauces.com – BBQ sauces, rubs, seasonings
- Ford’s Foods Inc. (Raleigh) bonesuckin.com – Bone Suckin’ sauces, seasonings and rubs
- 1 in 6 Snacks (Raleigh) 1in6snacks.com – Carolina Kettle chips & Rustic Roots tortilla chips & salsa
- Bob’s Smokin’ Southern BBQ (Fayetteville) smokinsouthernbbq.com – BBQ sauces, rubs, seasonings
- Hinnant Family Vineyards (Pine Level) hinnantvineyards.com – Grape juice, jams, jellies, fresh muscadine grapes
- Cloister Honey (Charlotte) cloisterhoney.com – Artisan honeys, gourmet spreads, honey straws, salves, oils, tincture and creams
- Carolina Packers (Smithfield) carolinapackers.com – BBQ pork. (sampling BBQ pork and slaw)
- Lumpy’s Ice Cream (Wake Forest) lumpysicecream.com – Scoops of ice cream in cups, cakes cones, waffle cones
- Sweet Treats NC (Raleigh) sweettreatsofnc.com – Gourmet apples, hand dipped strawberries & chocolate
- White Swan BBQ (Smithfield) whiteswanbbq.com – BBQ pork. (sampling BBQ pork and slaw)
Vendors for Oct. 23-27 only
- Billy Bub’s BBQ Sauces & Dry Rubs (Raleigh) billybubs.com – BBQ sauces & dry rubs
- Zulia Bakery* (Raleigh) – Cinnamon rolls, sticky buns
- Pepsi Bottling Ventures (Raleigh) pepsibottlingventures.com – Twisted Punch
- Saucy Company* (Wilmington) saucycompany.com – Salsa
- Jabba’s Creations* (Leland) jabbascreations.com – Hot sauce, BBQ sauce, dipping sauce, T-shirts
- Pink Lady Designs (Raleigh) pldcandles.com – Hand-poured soy candles, natural soaps, lotions
- Roland’s Rub (Morganton) rolandsrub.net – Dry rubs
- Y’all Sauce* (Winston-Salem) yallsauce.com – Marinades, dipping sauces, dish towels, T-shirts
- Annelore’s German Bakery* (Cary) anneloresbakery.com – Cakes, pastries, cookies, confections, pretzels, breads
- Mike D’s BBQ (Durham) mikedsbbq.com – BBQ sauce, dry rubs, chips
- Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream (Graham) smittyshomemadeicecream.com – Super-premium ice cream in cups and waffle cones
- Pluto’s Inc. (Carrboro) plutosinc.com – Authentic Jamaican Jerk sauces, Caribbean spice blends
- Southern Supreme Fruitcake (Bear Creek) southernsupreme.com – Fruitcake, cookies, cheese florets, brittle, nuts, chocolate
*New vendors for 2019
The Got To Be NC exhibition tent is beside the Scott Building, just inside Gate 11 off Blue Ridge Road. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m., except on Thursday, Oct. 17, when the exhibit will open at noon. Information is also posted on the N.C. State Fair website in the “Attractions” section under “Got To Be NC Agriculture.”
