Tag: social media

What makes the North Carolina State Fair the “Best. Day. Ever!”

From showing livestock to chowing down on your favorite fair foods, the North Carolina State Fair is a beloved tradition in our state. With so much to offer, the Fair offers a unique experience for every person that attends with free entertainment, thrilling rides and games, animals, family activities, competitions, vendors and of course, deep-fried foods. Our theme for the 2023 N.C. State Fair is “Best. Day. Ever!” and that is just what we plan to make it for every single fairgoer. As the fall comes around, we thought it would be fun to highlight some of our N.C. State…

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Meet the 2017 N.C. State Fair’s finest

This year, the State Fair includes close to 200 food vendors and they are all ah-mazing. There are two that came to shine, though. Followers of  N.C. State Fair social media voted for their favorite food this year. Al’s French Fries took home the award for 2017 Best Food at the Fair. Allison Jefferson Beckwith of Apex, also known as Al, started the business in 1959. Why? No reason other than because he loved fries. Actually, the first two years of business, he sold ice cream. His family keeps his legacy alive by managing two Al’s locations: one outside the…

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Making memories of a lifetime one year at a time

Firecracker and I are celebrating our 20th State Fair. Yes, Firecracker started working when she was 5 years old! (hahaha…very funny.) So in honor of our 20th anniversaries, we thought it would be fun to come up with our Top 20 Fair Memories to share with readers. When I was thinking back over all the cool and fun things I have gotten to do at the State Fair, the one thing that stood out in almost every one of them is the fun I had with the people involved. And that is really what the State Fair is all about,…

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The Newsboys return to Dorton Arena

With lyrics like “God’s not dead, He’s surely alive/He’s living on the inside, roaring like a lion,” the Newsboys don’t try to sugar coat the fact that they are a contemporary Christian rock band. But make no mistake, they are a rock band.  The band is in the middle of the We Believe Tour, and coming off the success of the movie, “God’s Not Dead,” that features their hit song of the same title. Personally, I’ve been a Newsboys fan since seeing them at Campbell University in 1994, just before their Going Public album came out, and shortly after Jeff…

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Announcing the ‘What Would You Do?’ contest winners

Last week, we asked for your suggestions on what to cover at the fair. We received a lot of great ideas from fans and followers on the blog, Facebook and Twitter. It was a difficult process, but we managed to narrow down the list to our top four. Here they are: 1. Brad O’Brien posted on Facebook: I’d like for you to lay out a “map” or step by step guide so that we can get the most “deep fried” experience possible. Last year was my first time at the fair & I feel like I could have gotten more…

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What would you do?

With nearly 50 years of combined experience working in the State Fair Press Office, we’ve seen a lot. We’ve had fun covering the latest deep-fried treats, the newest rides and great exhibits at the fair. But, we’re always on the lookout for other ideas on what to cover. That’s where you come in. What would you cover if you worked in the press office? Which exhibit would you like to go behind the scenes to see or experience? What ride would you try? We want to hear from you. Submit your ideas by leaving a comment below, posting on Facebook…

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Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup Recap

We had a great time last night hanging out with more than 100 of our social media followers at the Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup. We hope everyone had fun creating origami Twitter birds, sharing their State Fair memories, learning how to yo-yo, sampling Deep Fried Kool-Aid and House-Autry Mills hushpuppies and posing on our red carpet during the event. We’d like to send a special thanks to our sponsors and exhibitors who made the event such a success. Thanks to Susan Hansen from the Village of Yesteryear, Lisa Gregory with Blue Ribbon Memories, The Amazing Arthur Fratelli, Smokey Bear and…

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Deep Fried TweetUPdate – SCVNGR edition

Do you have what it takes to compete with #TeamAwesome, the Fierce Fashionistas or any of the other teams that have signed up for the SCVNGR hunt at the Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup this Thursday? If so, go ahead and get your tickets for the event, then send us a tweet with your team name and team members. Once you form a team, join in on the #DFSmackTalk on Twitter. If you’re still working on your team, here are a few things you should know about the hunt: Teams can have between 3 and 5 people. You don’t have to…

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Submit your press-office challenges

Last year, we asked our fans for suggestions on what they would like to see us cover on the Deep Fried blog during the fair. Thanks to your suggestions, we ended up going mano-a-mano with the Fighter, milking a cow at the NCSU Animal Science Club exhibit and learning how to blacksmith in Heritage Circle. We received so many great press-office challenges that we decided to do it again this year. So, here’s your chance: Is there new food you’d like us to review before you come to the fair? Do you want to make sure a certain ride is…

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Meet the 2011 Deep Fried Ambassador

The competition was tough in this year’s quest to find a Deep Fried Ambassador – an individual whose love for the fair rivals the size of a giant pumpkin. We had 10 amazing entries from a diverse group of food-loving, cow-milking, concert-going, pig-race-watching fair fanatics. Each post included memorable one-liners, such as Jay Goel’s “Once you go CAT, you never go back,” and beautiful prose as demonstrated by Girls With Guts, “At night you light up my eyes with your colorful fireworks display, shining down on the sea of people who travel near and far to be with you.” We…

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