New food: Joe’s Big Dogs

There are hot dogs, and then there’s Joe’s Big Dogs. The silver diner car located between the Jim Graham Building and Dorton Arena has been a surprising sight for many people walking into the Fair from Gate 2. That’s because Joe Bushfan, owner of Joe’s Big Dogs, is selling some really big hot dogs.  You can get Joe’s all-beef hot dog in three sizes: quarter pound, half pound and yes, even a 1-pound hot dog. Blue Ribbon, Firecracker and I decided it was best to tackle the massive 1-pound hot dog together. We spent some time talking to Joe about…

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Fan-selected press office challenge: Milk a cow

Last week, we asked our social media friends to suggest Fair topics they would like to see covered on the blog. We picked winners over the weekend, and will be posting our responses to their challenges this week. I took up Jessica’s challenge to milk a cow at the N.C. State animal science club booth in the Expo Center. I’ve never milked a cow at the Fair before, so I was a little nervous going into the booth, but the N.C. State students on duty offered me some tips. Here’s how it went: Note: If video doesn’t appear, try refreshing…

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Press Office Challenge: Top 5 edition

On the first day of the Fair, Firecracker issued a challenge for the press office staff to do something they have never done before at the N.C. State Fair. As an intern from South Carolina, there are a lot of things that were new for me this year. Yes, I have been to the N.C. State Fair before, but I usually limit my trip to one night – enough time for one ride, a turkey leg and some N.C. State ice cream. I waited until the last day to post this blog, and now present Bearded Lady’s Top Five New…

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Friday Night Food Drive

What if I told you that if you bring at least four cans of food to the N.C. State Fair on Thursday, Oct. 22, you’ll get free admission to the Fair on that day? No, I’m not pulling your turkey leg. In fact, we have offered a similar deal each Fair for the past 14 years. It’s a day of giving that we call Food Lion Hunger Relief Day. All food collected during Hunger Relief Day will be donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, which serves a 34-county area. Surprisingly, some people have never heard…

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Bearded Lady says goodbye…for now

  For the past 10 weeks I have had the opportunity to intern with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services through the North Carolina Youth Advocacy and Involvement Office’s internship program. I was one of 100 college students offered a summer position, and I feel fortunate to have made the cut. In this short time, I interviewed a rockin’ eco hero and a horse complex manager; I saw grown men chug milk and identified a former commodity queen; I covered Blueberry Day and Peach Day; and I discussed how social media is becoming a larger force in all our lives. I…

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