Free grounds entertainment abounds (Part 2)

Last week, we brought you the first installment of our very busy entertainment lineup. Today, we finish it up with part deux. The racing pigs and the King BMX show are two of the most popular acts on the ground. We’re excited to bring back the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band to offer topnotch entertainment on the Bluegrass Stage. And we’ve got new acts on the Waterfall Stage, including Jeanne Jolly, who has a dedicated local following. We’re supplementing both of those stages with additional acts on the weekend to keep the fun going. So without further ado, here’s part…

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Catching up with Keith King

I recently had the opportunity to slow down our favorite BMX biker (Keith King!) to find out what he and his group of riders have been up to this summer and what they’ve got planned for the State Fair this year. What’s been going on with the King Action Sports Stunt Show this summer? Summer is not as busy as fall is for us.  We performed for a camp in Pennsylvania and also at Carowinds. We also did several other shows, such as our annual Fourth of July show in Lillington. We’ve also been working on equipment and ramps. To…

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Returning Line-up

One of the more difficult jobs at the Fair is trying to determine the right balance for the grounds entertainment. We want to keep things fresh and bring in new acts, but also keep in mind that fairgoers create traditions of going to see certain acts year after year. This balancing act falls in the lap of our Assistant Fair Manager, Mike Pleasant. Mike has to decide when an act has run its course or when to bring it back. Sometimes that means not booking a favorite act for a year or two. Or in the case of an act…

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That’s hardcore

Just two days after breaking a leg, and about 36 hours after having surgery to repair it, Craig Roberts was at the King Action Sports Stunt Show cheering his fellow riders on. He says he’s doing just fine. His fellow FMX rider, Travis Willis, told me this isn’t Robert’s first broken bone — he has broken his back a couple of times, so a broken leg is pretty non-exciting. (Of course, this is coming from a guy who injured his arm and didn’t even realize it for a couple of hours a few years back. His first reaction was “take…

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Feel better soon!

We blogged yesterday that Keith King’s show puts the eXtreme in BMX and FMX. At yesterday’s 4 p.m. show, Freestyle Motorcross stuntman Craig Roberts broke his leg– in half. But, then again, these guys are very tough, as evidenced by the photo Keith posted to our Facebook account. Craig’s flashing the “rock on” gesture and Keith had this caption on the pic: “One of our FMX guys Craig broke his leg …. Well at least he had good looking paramedics….” We hope you recover quickly Craig! We’ll update you on his progress as we hear.

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Keith King’s BMX-treme show

It’s always cool to see local guys go big…and if nothing else, Keith King always goes big. The Durham native is the owner of King BMX Stunt Shows, a new name they recently adopted because of the addition of motorcross stuntmen. Almost of all of these guys have competed in the X Games and it shows–the emcee had a walking boot on his foot from a recent injury. We interviewed Keith a couple times throughout the footage, so check in to see his favorite place to perform and get more insider info on the exciting world of BMX biking.

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BMX legend to perform at Fair today!

You can catch the most decorated BMX biker of all time at the King Action Stunt Sports Show today at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. That would be Greenville resident Dave Mirra, who has won the most gold medals in X Games history and is one of the most popular extreme sports athletes in the world. Mirra’s bike company, MirraCo is the official bike of the King BMX Stunt Show. The King Action Sports Stunt show features top ramp riders as well as flatland riders, and as you can tell from the above photo, they’ve added two motorcross riders for…

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Fair Pics: Flips and Tricks

Here’s some awesome Fair Pics of the Day for you from BMX stunt man Keith King’s MySpace photo album. He tagged us in some crazy pictures of him and his team’s amazing stunt show. The whole gang will be back at this year’s Fair in the Grandstand Monday, Oct. 20 through Sunday, Oct. 26 for free. Check out their Web site for more info. Enjoy!

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Catching up with Keith King

What do your favorite State Fair entertainers do during the other 354 days of the year? For many, traveling the country performing is a full-time gig, and it seems like a good way to make a living.We caught up recently with Keith King, owner of the King BMX Stunt Show http://www.bmxbikestuntshows.com/, and the person responsible for the high-flying thrill show in the Grandstand for the past nine years.Keith is a Durham native, who works full-time entertaining crowds with fancy flatland bicycle riding and outrageous ramped-up jumps. The bike stunt show marks its 10th anniversary at the State Fair and the…

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