Wiki-Fair


Wikipedia, as you may know, is the encyclopedia of the 21st Century–minus the musty library smell and images of door to door salesmen peddling the latest set. Each entry is written by one, two, or even thousands of contributors familiar with the subject at hand (the word “wiki” literally means a type of collaborative Web site). It’s definitely not what you want to base your research paper on, but often times it can be the first entry that pops up when you do a Google search for a topic. The site allows visitors to directly edit each subject and its HTML coding to update information instantly.

We tracked down the entry for the N.C. State Fair and we think it could use a little help. It’s got some great history tidbits, such as the the Fair has run continuously since 1853 except from 1861 to 1869 during the Civil War and Reconstruction and 1942 to 1945 during WWII. But there’s still so much more Fair history to add to the page. Did you know that the main attraction at the fair is 1895 were chicken incubators? Or that the Cary United Methodist Church served its first ham biscuit in 1916? In addition, since the entry was last updated the Fair has grown to 11 days (as of this year!) and now hosts almost 860,000 people.

Stop by our Wikipedia entry and spruce it up!

About Cotton Candy

Karlie Justus - blogged for the 2008 / 2009 N.C. State Fairs. This is her bio from 2009: When I'm not blogging for the N.C. State Fair, I go by Karlie Justus--but Cotton Candy suits me just fine. My earliest memories of the Fair are of the times my parents would bring my brother and I up from Asheville, N.C. for a double dose of the Fair and a N.C. State football game. Fast-forward two decades later, and I'm a public information officer for the deep fried celebration whose must-see Fair attractions include the giant pumpkins, decorated cakes and deep fried Oreos.

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