You’ve Got to Be at the Got to Be NC Festival This Weekend!

With more than 100 tractors, North Carolina food and beverages, music, a carnival and free kids’ activities, the Got to Be NC Festival is an event you don’t want to miss at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, May 17-19. “The antique tractor and farm equipment display, featuring a daily tractor parade, and the Food Lion Local Goodness Marketplace are two of the unique highlights of the festival,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “We have one of the largest antique tractor displays in the Southeast, and the marketplace features around 80 North Carolina companies offering the opportunity to sample the…

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Youth care for livestock projects in rain, snow, and shine

Following is a guest post from Marisa Linton. Marisa grew up showing and raising livestock, and currently lives on her family’s small farm in Mount Olive. She has shown animals at the N.C. State Fair for 14 years and is a past youth livestock scholarship recipient. She is an N.C. State University graduate, agricultural photographer and blogger. The beginning of the year brought snow with it to North Carolina. There were many excited kids playing in the snow and relishing the delay and cancellation of school. In many parts of the state, children were making snow cream, attempting to build…

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Deep Fried Countdown: 10 days

We’re just 10 days out from the start of the 2012 N.C. State Fair. That’s right, just 10 days until the jaw-dropping rides, deep-fried delicacies and amazing agricultural exhibits. If you’re starting to plan your trip, we’ve got the following 10 tips to get you ready for the fair. Buy tickets in advance Buying tickets in advance not only saves you money, but also saves time standing in line when you get to the fair. You can purchase your tickets online at www.ncstatefair.org or at nine area retail locations. If you like rides, make sure to buy your ride sheets…

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Deep Fried Ambassador: It’s been fun!

This is a guest blogger post by our Official Deep Fried Ambassador, Ashlee. We’ll be reposting her State Fair adventures from her Miss Ashlee blog throughout the Fair. Rocket’s Red Glare! It has been so much fun to be the Deep Fried Ambassador! I’ve connected to people on a whole new level. I’ve discovered the Fair in a whole new light and enjoyed myself to the max!!! It’s with sweet (literally) memories that I tuck this year’s fair into the folds of life and savor it for another year. The State Fair is such a great reminder that another season…

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Behind the scenes with…Carol Turner, livestock office manager

What began as a temporary gig helping a friend, has turned into 25 years of service for Carol Turner, the N.C. State Fair livestock office manager. Carol oversees a six-person staff and coordinates with superintendents for each of the animal species during the Fair. For the past several weeks, she has been camped out in the Gate 9 ticket booth preparing for this year’s show. Her staff will join her in the Graham Building after Labor Day, where they’ll remain throughout the Fair.  One of the biggest challenges for Carol this year is converting the old entry database to new software. The software, Blue Ribbon, will be used to…

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Five Reasons to Love the Fair

Triangle blogger Ginny Skalski (whose blog Ginny From the Blog always gets me humming old-school JLo) posted her five reasons why you must go to the Fair. Her post gives a run-down of her Fair adventures (a man clucking at a turkey to make it gobble back at him, composting worms, mock dream gardens) Her reasons, with some explanations: 1. Farm AnimalsHow often do you get to see goats play King of the Mountain or watch piglets suckle on their mom’s teat? Head over to the Jim Graham and Kelly Building to see this and more (for free).2. The FoodOK,…

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