Celebrate What’s Great

Weekend Update: Aug. 9-10

Funhouse August 7 August 7

Brides-to-be will find the fairgrounds the place to be on Saturday and Sunday as the Southern Bridal Show and Expo sets up in the Graham Building. Meet more than 150 Triangle-area wedding experts. Also enjoy wedding fashion previews featuring the latest trends in bridal wear. Event hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 per person. Children age 12 and under are admitted free. Pre-register and purchase tickets online to receive a $2 discount. Other events this weekend: The Raleigh Flea Market is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Each weekend, the Commercial and…

Thank you for helping us Celebrate What’s Great!

Bearded Lady October 26 November 5

The final fireworks have exploded and the gates have closed on the 2010 N.C. State Fair. This year was one for the record books. Over our 11-day run, 1,091,887 people visited the Fair to enjoy the rides, food and exhibits that have become family traditions. On behalf of the entertainers, vendors and employees of the Fair, we want to say thank you for coming to the 2010 N.C. State Fair. Note: If video doesn’t appear, try refreshing browser.

Deep-fried heaven on a stick

Bearded Lady October 12 October 12

Heaven is a deep-fried honey bun, or at least that’s my opinion. The press office, along with members of the media and our new Deep Fried Ambassador, sampled new Fair foods during Monday’s pre-Fair media lunch. There were deep-fried Chips Ahoy cookies, deep-fried Honey Buns and Kool-Aid Pickles. First, Sweet Corn and Firecracker sampled the deep-fried Chips Ahoy cookies, which are similar to deep-fried Oreos in that they are a fried ball of chocolate and cookie. Yum! Flying Bob and I joined in to tackle the deep-fried honey bun, which is about as close to deep-fried heaven as you get….

Progress Photo: Friday

Bearded Lady October 8 October 8

Friday was a warm and beautiful day at the fairgrounds. The crew from Powers Great American Midways is putting together several rides including Fighter, the newest ride at the Fair. Many food vendors were spotted last weekend, and more will be placed into position this weekend. In the entry departments, workers were busy accepting entries and potential blue-ribbon winners. They’ll be even more activity this weekend, and we’ll be here to keep you posted on the progress.

Erwin couple reports that advance ticket sales are painless

Merrie Go Round October 7 October 6

Members of the Deep Fried blogging crew visited several of the advance ticket sales locations this week to pass out T-shirts and other fun promotional items to a few lucky advance sale shoppers. Buying tickets in advance saves money and time compared to waiting to buy them at the State Fair, but don’t just take our word for it. The Harringtons of Erwin were winners of one of the special promotional prize packs and were kind enough to talk about their shopping experience. Note: If video doesn’t appear, try refreshing browser. Be sure to follow us on Twitter or Facebook…

Behind the scenes with…Betty Shaw, entry department superintendent

Bearded Lady September 29 September 29

As of Tuesday afternoon, 18,506 online, mailed, faxed and hand-delivered applications had been received by the entry department and the number keeps growing. There is still time to enter the horticulture and Flower Show competitions (deadline is this Friday, Oct. 1), but other Fair contests stopped accepting entries last Friday. If you entered one of the contests, you may have talked with Betty Shaw, superintendent for the entry department. Since Friday, Betty and her staff have been working to verify applications and prepare entries for the Fair. We took a few minutes to talk with Betty and find out more about the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the competitions each year. Note: If …

Don’t miss your chance to win the Great Fair-A-Thon Challenge

Bearded Lady September 27 September 27

In case you missed the big announcement, we’re partnering with Subway during this year’s State Fair to offer a free trip for two to New York City. After Pants Dance Revolution and the $5 Footlong Song Challenge, we decided it was time to take things to another level. That’s why we recently announced the Great Fair-A-Thon Challenge. The contest has three stages of competition, but if you make it to the finish line you can win a two-day trip to New York City to watch Jared Fogle, the Subway guy, compete in the New York City Marathon. The first stage of the race, a…

Deep FRIEDays: Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen

Bearded Lady September 24 September 24

Craving deep-fried goodness, but can’t wait until October? We’re here to help. Each Friday in September, Bearded Lady will visit a local Best Dish in N.C. restaurant to see what chefs are frying to satisfy a Fair fanatic’s hunger. Along the way, he’ll sample deep-fried creations worthy of the N.C. State Fair. And, while you won’t find these foods at the Fair, you will find them throughout the year at our participating restaurants. For our final Deep FRIEDays segment before the Fair, we move closer to the fairgrounds as we visit Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen in Cary. The restaurant, which is owned by Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants & Hotels, is known for its…

Sounds from the Waterfall and Bluegrass Stages

Bearded Lady September 23 September 23

Dorton Arena isn’t the only place to find amazing performances during the Fair. Music lovers will want to make sure they check out the free concerts at the Waterfall Stage and Bluegrass Stage during the Fair. Just outside Dorton Arena on the northwest lawn, Raleigh native Jeanne Jolly will play a mix of country, folk and Americana songs. The singer/songwriter, who has been compared to Alison Krauss, spent a lot of her youth in the Blue Ridge Moutains listening to its influential bluegrass sound. After moving to Los Angeles and traveling across North America in a jazz group, Jeanne is back in North…

Behind the scenes with…Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina

Bearded Lady September 16 September 15

Food Lion Hunger Relief Day continues to be one of the most popular days at the Fair. It could be because donating four cans of food gets you into the Fair free that day. It might also be the reward of being part of one of the largest single-day food drives in the state. We hope it’s a little of both. Last year, fairgoers donated 222,956 pounds of food to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, but on Thursday, Oct. 21, we hope to collect even more food. We recently visited the Food Bank’s Raleigh location to take a tour and see how the staff prepares…

Tag: Celebrate What’s Great