Tag: Mountain State Fair

County Fair Travels: East one day, West the next

As you are reading this, I am probably in the northwestern part of the state, driving west on Highway 421 towards Newland. I left Raleigh pretty early this morning, because today will be the busiest County Fair traveling day yet — Avery County Fair this morning, Mountain State Fair in Fletcher in the early afternoon, then finally on to the Iredell County Fair in the evening. Yesterday, I was in Fayetteville attending the Cape Fear Fair and the Cumberland County Fair. Two very different events, each with very passionate staff members and volunteers. The Cape Fear Fair is a new agricultural fair and has…

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Sights, Sounds and Smells: Mtn. State Fair, Part II

“Squilling” Earnhardt Jr., “Piggy” Gordon, “Rutter” Martin and “Hoggy” Jarrett of the Circle C Racing Pigs (a company based out of Newton, N.C.) make their laps on the Hog Speedway for their final prizes–cheese puffs! Read a great review of the race from the Times-News. And don’t forget to visit these little fellas when they travel to the State Fair in just a few weeks! The Ferris wheel at the Mtn. State Fair had incredible views of the mountains and, if you timed it just right, airplanes taking off out of the Asheville Regional Airport across the road. A curious…

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Sights, Sounds and Smells: Mtn. State Fair, Part I

I mentioned a few posts ago that the corn on the cob cupcakes (which won a blue ribbon, by the way!) had me craving roasted corn. Well, here at the Mtn. State Fair they have deep fried corn on the cob, making our Deep Fried blog very proud. I vote to bring this to the State Fair! The theme of “Best of the West” was used here in one of the 4-H club displays in Davis Arena. I couldn’t resist putting up NCSU’s Mr. Wuf decked out in chaps and holsters. These four vegetables are “fraternal quadruplets,” meaning they all…

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Best of the West: Mtn. State Fair

Before… …and after! (Notice the mountains in the backgrounds of both pictures.) It’s always fun to see what happens on the fairgrounds before everyone comes for their candy apples, Ferris wheel rides and the livestock shows. When I arrived on Tuesday, the Midway was pretty empty save for some of the larger thrill rides. But what a different a day-and-a-half makes! The staff up here in Fletcher and Playworld Amusements company worked their magic overnight to have the grounds fair-ready for Friday’s opening ceremonies. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, front, and Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, in the second seat,take a ride…

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Sushi and corn at the Mountain State Fair

Sushi cupcakes…no really! Corn on the cob cupcakes with pats of “butter” I’m in Fletcher, N.C. this week helping out with the N.C. Mountain State Fair, one of the most beautiful fairs in the country because it’s nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. (I may be a bit biased on this point, as I grew up not far down the road in Hendersonville.) The fair kicks off this Friday, Sept. 5, and it would make a great family roadtrip, especially since heading west this weekend might be a good idea. After we helped Asheville news station WLOS…

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