50 Years of welcoming fairgoers: Meet Patsy Rowland

For 50 years, Patsy Rowland has helped welcome fairgoers to the N.C. State Fair. In all that time, she’s seen the fair evolve and learned a thing or two about what it takes to keep the gates moving. Rowland started working at the fair in 1976 as a ticket taker at Gate 11. She was … Read more

New fairgrounds police chief settling in just in time for GTBNC festival

The N.C. State Fair has a new police chief who’s just getting settled into the job in time for the Got to Be NC Festival. Anthony “Tony” Prignano started on April 25. Technically, his job title is Public Safety and Security Chief, and it’s a shift from his decades of work in the Durham County … Read more

Advice from the Deep Fried rookies

The N.C. State Fair is full of surprises and hidden gems. When you work at the fair for the first time, like I did in 2019, those things add up quickly. If you’ve visited before, it’s easy to think you know pretty much everything there is to know. If you’ve visited a lot, you learn … Read more