about the NC State Fair

If you don't live in North Carolina, this may not seem like a big deal at all. But let me just tell you:  the NC State Fair is in town. 

You better believe it.

Now, I don't know if state fairs are popular in all states, but here in North Carolina, the fair is a big. deal.

Yes, I'm not sure exactly why. Is it the rides thrown together with rusty screws? Is it the greasy (but oh so tasty) food? The fact that you can get just about anything you ever wanted fried on a stick? The smells? The sounds?

I just know that for the 10 days the fair is in town, it is a hot topic of news and conversation, a cause for very long traffic jams, and you just better go if you don't want to be scoffed at.

So, go we did.

Friday night after I got home from work, we changed into proper fair attire. Well, not really...we just wore normal clothes. We hopped in the car with our pre-bought tickets (they're $3 cheaper you know?) and cash for parking and food. We slowly made our way there in the awful traffic. We found a parking lot, finally, for a $10 spot. We made it to the gate. We realized we had grabbed one ticket and one receipt from the glove compartment. We walked all the way back to the car. We made sure to have 2 tickets this time. We made it back to the gate. And in we went.

Oh, NC State Fair. How do you stay the same year after year and still attract us so?

We made our way through the crowds for a hand-dipped corn dog. Check.

We found our favorite place, The Tater Hut, for some fresh ribbon fries. Check.

We went to the NC Agriculture tent for our annual bottle of Cheerwine. They didn't have any this year. Fail.

We were momentarily saddened until Aaron spotted Cheerwine at a nearby pizza stand. Check.

I was determined to try the NC State Ice Cream that always has a freakishly long line. We got it. I didn't really see the big deal. Check.

We went to the Village of Yesteryear (my favorite) to see the crafty things and bought a couple of super cute stuffed animals for kids we don't yet have. Check.

For the first time ever, we walked through the gardens. That was fun. Check.

We went to the Exhibition Center to see the prize winning vegetables and pumpkins, and the adorable baby animals. Can I just have a baby cow for one day? We bought a $1 carton of milk from the NC State Dairy. Check.

Then we were about all faired-out for one night.

The NC Fair is pretty fun. If nothing else, the people watching is totally worth going!

We will actually be back again this coming Friday night with our crew from Journey18:25. So I better not eat too much else this week I guess!

Do you have a favorite food, ride, or attraction at the State Fair?