Past President Ray Frost, N.C. State Fair, and newly elected president Steve Mains, Hickory American Legion Fair, conduct the annual NCAOAF business meeting.
Fair managers and organizers from across North and South Carolina took over the Sheraton Imperial Hotel last week for the annual Association of Agricultural Fairs Convention. The convention, which highlighted economical ways to improve the fair experience, began Wednesday night with an auction and reverse raffle. Proceeds from this event supported the N.C. Association of Agricultural Fairs’ educational scholarships.
On Thursday, attendees heard from Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler and Sen. Bob Atwater. In the trade show, attendees met with many family-friendly entertainers; managers often book new acts and finalize carnival contracts during this part of the convention.
Friday was packed with workshops, meetings, award ceremonies and a banquet where the new NCAOAF board president was sworn in. The 2009 president was the State Fair’s very own Ray Frost, assistant manager for operations. Ray has served the association well and will be passing the torch to Steve Mains from the Hickory American Legion Fair.
Winners were honored in several competitions sponsored by the N.C. Association of Agricultural Fairs:
Best Youth Involvement
Category 1 (Fairs with an attendance of less than 15,000) – Drexel Community Fair
Category 2 (Fairs with an attendance of 15,001 to 40,000) – Hickory American Legion Fair
Category 3 (Fairs with an attendance of more than 40,001) – Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair
Governmental Category (those fairs run by government entities) – Cabarrus County Fair
Best Agricultural Content
Category 1 – Stokes County Agricultural Fair
Category 2 – Lee Regional Agricultural Fair
Category 3 – Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair
Governmental Category – Dixie Classic Fair
Best Use of Media
Category 1 – Stanly County American Legion Agricultural Fair
Category 2 – Chowan County Regional Fair
Category 3 – Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair
Governmental Category – Cabarrus County Fair
Image Award, given to the best overall fair in each category (except the governmental category)
Category 1 – Stokes County Agricultural Fair
Category 2 – Lee Regional Agricultural Fair
Category 3 – Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair
The NCDA&CS and the N.C. State Fair also sponsor an awards competition for the best Got to Be NC Agriculture Display. All agricultural fairs, whether or not they are members of the NCAOAF, can enter this competition, and governmental fairs are not separated into a separate category, rather all fairs are organized by attendance only.
Best Got to Be NC Agriculture Display
Category 1 – Drexel Community Fair
Category 2 – Cape Fear Fair Association
Category 3 – Cabarrus County Fair
