Tag: Tobacco Barn

The Tobacco Barn at the N.C. State Fair educates visitors on the history and heritage of a crop that built North Carolina

North Carolina’s agricultural history is rich. With new farming technology, and many new people in the state from other areas, there are opportunities to share that history. The tobacco barn at the North Carolina State Fair aims to educate people on the history of the tobacco, through examples tobacco stringing and the curing process. “We use the same recipe that all farmers used 150 years ago, so we start out slow at the same temperature as it is outside and ease up about 5 degrees every day and we don’t go over 100 until we get all the green out,”…

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First-generation farmer wins Commissioner’s Award in 2021 Heritage Tobacco Competition

From a tobacco-tying competition, barn curing, a heritage tobacco harvest competition and a mock tobacco auction, the legacy of tobacco and its contributions to the state of North Carolina and the agricultural industry is on full display at Heritage Circle at the N.C. State Fair. The Heritage Tobacco Harvest Competition was started in 2015 to recognize individuals growing tobacco. Entries and winners are on view in the Tobacco Pavilion in Heritage Circle. Growers from North Carolina submit silver-dollar-sized hand ties of flue-cured tobacco to compete in different stalk position classes. Brent Leggett, a first-generation farmer from Nashville, was awarded the…

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10 fun STEM activities for kids at the State Fair

Learn about the important role bees and pollinators play in producing our food. The Bee Exhibit in the Expo Building features beekeepers and an active beehive on display.

Shhhh… don’t tell the kids! The State Fair is more than fun, it’s also educational. Check out out Top 10 activities to participate in science, technology, engineering and math-oriented (STEM) activities at the fair, Oct. 13-23. 1. The brink floater mussel is the Wildlife Resources Commission’s featured species of the year, and fairgoers can see these freshwater mussels up close to learn more about these invertebrates and their importance to freshwater ecosystems. The exhibit is located near the Village of Yesteryear and the Children’s Barnyard. 2. Stop by the tobacco barn in Heritage Circle to see how tobacco leaves were…

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Mock Tobacco Auction on Friday allows fairgoers to ‘follow sale’

The new tobacco pavilion in Heritage Circle will hosts its first mock tobacco auction Friday at 2 p.m. The auction has been held in the Expo Center for the past several years. The new venue will allow even more fairgoers to experience a throwback to N.C.’s past. “Tobacco is an important part of North Carolina’s heritage and agricultural economy,” said Pat Short, Heritage Circle superintendent. “It’s an industry that is well represented in Heritage Circle with the tobacco tying competition, curing in a traditional stick tobacco barn and the mock auction.” Tobacco auctions were common all over North Carolina until…

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