Photos from the Fair: 50 years of State Fair fun

Former Raleigh resident Tom Vestal has attended 50 consecutive N.C. State Fairs, beginning in 1960 when he was a freshman at N.C. State University. Vestal, a retired pastor who now splits his time between Yadkin County and Mouth of Wilson, Va., spent a few minutes Friday visiting with Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler in Heritage Circle. Want to know more about Vestal’s 50 years at the Fair? Check out the WRAL story below. Note: If video doesn’t appear, try refreshing the browser.

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Got to Be NC Festival headlines a jam-packed weekend at the Fairgrounds

Fairgrounds visitors will have plenty of activities to choose from as the third-annual Got to Be NC Festival kicks off a full weeekend of events. The festival runs Friday, May 21, to Sunday, May 23, and will include hundreds of food and commercial vendors, agricultural exhibits, carnival rides and much more. Following is the jam-packed schedule of activities at the Got to Be NC Festival: Amran Shriners N.C. Seafood Fish Fry, Friday, beside the Expo Center The Shriners will serve N.C. mountain trout, catfish and shrimp from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Cost is $10 per plate. The event is…

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Anoop Desai on strict N.C. State Fair training program after American Idol tour

WRAL posted a fun video this morning that features “local dude” Anoop Desai going through a rather rigorous training program of deep-fried foods, robot dance moves and some weather report push-ups. Anoop is also warming up his vocal cords for his first solo performance post-American Idol. He’ll be in Dorton Arena during the N.C. State Fair Thursday, Oct. 22, on Food Lion Hunger Relief Day. If you come by the Fair that night, you’ll end up with a pretty good deal, as four cans of food will get you in the gates for free and Anoop’s concert costs only $5….

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Blog Lovin’

As it’s plain to see from this blog, we love when people get excited about the Fair even before it rolls around. If you haven’t dropped by yet, make sure you check out Tara Calishain’s State Fair blog over at WRAL.com. She may be a tech reporter for the news station, but she’s a State Fair veteran who knows her stuff! We can’t wait to see what she talks about in the coming weeks. In last year’s coverage, the Fair-saavy blogger listed her Top Ten Things Not To Miss at the State Fair. It had some great “Extra Credit” and…

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Peachy keen

With the State Fair premium book now up online, North Carolinians are one step closer to getting one of those coveted blue ribbons. If you’re thinking about entering a peach dish, July 24th’s Peach Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh would be a great time to stock up on fresh, local peaches–after all, the prime time for getting N.C. peaches is right now. You could even take it one step further and use the Farmers Market’s peach dessert contest as a test run for your favorite peach dessert. Judging begins at 10…

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