North Carolina State Fair

Coordinates: 35°47′46″N 78°42′43″W / 35.7960°N 78.7119°W / 35.7960; -78.7119

North Carolina State Fair
A view from the Midway with Dorton Arena in the background.
Genre	State fair
Dates	14–24 October 2021
Location(s)	1025 Blue Ridge Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27607[1]
Years active	1853–60, 1870–1925, 1928–41, 1946–2019, 2021–
Attendance	938,029 (2019)[2]
Website	http://www.ncstatefair.org/

North Carolina State Fair Commercial & Education Buildings
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Commercial and education buildings
Show map of North CarolinaShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	NC State Fairgrounds Raleigh, North Carolina
Built	1928 (1928)
Architect	Atwood & Weeks; John W. Hudson
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Mediterranean Revival
NRHP reference No.	87000855[3]
Added to NRHP	June 5, 1987

The North Carolina State Fair is an annual fair and agricultural exposition held in Raleigh, North Carolina, and organized by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

History[]

The North Carolina State Fair was first held by the North Carolina State Agricultural Society at a site east of Raleigh in 1853. The event has been held at three different locations since, finding its current home in 1928. It has been celebrated continuously since 1853, with the exceptions of 1861 to 1869 (during the Civil War and Reconstruction), 1926 to 1927 (when the Agricultural Society disbanded and the state Agriculture Department took over operations), 1942 to 1945 (during World War II) and 2020 (see details below). In the 1870s and 1880s, the mills in Winston-Salem would close so that workers could attend the state fair in Raleigh.^[4]

The fair has been held at its present site on the western edge of Raleigh since 1928. The 344-acre site includes many notable buildings, including Dorton Arena, a 7,500-seat arena constructed with a unique large suspended roof.

Held for 11 days in mid-October, the fair attracts more than a million people to the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. In 2010, the fair broke an attendance record with 1,091,887.^[5]

Along with Dorton Arena, the North Carolina State Fair Commercial & Education Buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The pair of large rectangular exhibition halls were built in 1928, and are stucco-covered Mediterranean Revival style buildings. The buildings appear as a single building because of their unified facade and design, but are a large rectangular complex of two buildings, 504 feet in length and 80 feet in depth. They feature twin, tower-flanked entrances and glazed terra cotta ornamentation.^[6]

On July 29, 2020, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced that the 2020 North Carolina State Fair would be cancelled.^[7]

Accidents and incidents[]

On October 24, 2013, five people (between the ages of 14 and 39 years old) were injured on the "Vortex" ride when the ride started up again as people were attempting to get off the ride. All were taken to WakeMed hospital in Raleigh.^[8] On October 29, 2013, the operator of the ride, Timothy Dwayne Tutterow, was charged with three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, for inflicting serious bodily injury in connection with the accident.^[9] In June 2015, Tutterow pleaded guilty, but has not been sentenced as part of a plea arrangement to testify against the ride owner, Joshua Gene Macaroni. On February 19, 2016, Macaroni was sentenced to 30 days in jail.^[10]

Exhibits[]

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Antique Farm Machinery[]

The Antique Farm Machinery exhibit, located near the Village of Yesteryear displays a collection of vintage farm tools including traditional spinning wheels, horse-pulled tobacco and cotton pickers and planters, and aged hand reapers. The exhibit also features an old milk bottle display, and Model-T engine and more than a dozen Allis-Chalmers, Farmall, John Deere and Silver King tractors from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Cultivate a Career Tent[]

This exhibit replaced the Green NC exhibit during its debut in 2011.

Field of Dreams[]

Flower and Garden Show[]

This oasis on the fairgrounds features winding pathways through gardens grown by local organizations. More than 90 demonstrations are held throughout the fair, with experts offering advice on such topics as pumpkin carving, flower arranging and proper plant care.

Got to Be NC Agriculture Tent[]

In this exhibit, visitors can discover and sample food products from across North Carolina. More than 20 local vendors participate in the exhibit throughout the course of the fair.

Heritage Circle[]

State Fair Art[]

Fairgoers can see cattle, sheep, goats, swine and learn more about the various breeds of farm animals raised in North Carolina. More than 60 animals are on display, including the grand and reserve champions from the junior market steer, lamb, goat, turkey and barrow shows.

Village of Yesteryear[]

The Village of Yesteryear features artists and crafters creating, displaying and selling handmade crafts. Village crafters spin wool into yarn, weave yarn into cloth, make rugs, turn pottery, carve wooden bowls and utensils, make split-oak baskets and more. Native American crafts such as hand-coiled pottery, beadwork and stone carving are also featured.

Competitions[]

General Exhibits[]

Division I competitions cover a variety of general topics including wine, cheese and butter, agronomy, forage crops, flower show, horticulture, arts and photography, and bees and honey.

Livestock[]

Division II premium book competitions cover all livestock categories, except for poultry and rabbits. The categories are dairy cattle, beef cattle, special shows, swine, meat sheep, dairy goats, pygmy goats, wool sheep and meat goats.

Poultry & Rabbits[]

Division III competitions cover poultry and domestic rabbit competitions. The winners of the rabbit competitions are on display in the Rabbit Barn during the State Fair.

Family & Consumer Sciences[]

Division IV categories include family and consumer sciences, such as culinary, specialty cooking contest, clothing and home furnishings. The division also houses all the 4-H competitions.

Special Exhibits[]

Division V competitions are made up of special exhibits on the fair. These include the Folk Festival, Department of Labor apprentice contest, horseshoe pitching contest, handicrafts and hobbies, and the essay contest.

Folk Festival[]

The Folk Festival was first held at the N.C. State Fair in 1948 to showcase North Carolina's traditional music and dance. More than 1,500 people participate each year for the coveted Bascom Lamar Lunsford Trophy. The trophy was named after the festival founder.

Horses[]

In addition to the N.C. State Fair, the fairgrounds is also host for the N.C. State Fair Horse Show and Hunter Jumper Show, which runs before, during and after the N.C. State Fair. The competition features thousands of horses and is open to the public.

Entertainment[]

Concerts in Dorton Arena[]

Each night, Dorton Arena lights up with performances from musical artists. The concerts span all music genres, including country, rock, R&B, and contemporary Christian. Dorton Arena has hosted performers over the years, including The Platters, Garth Brooks, Ricky Nelson, Patty Loveless, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Chubby Checker, Alan Jackson, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Waylon Jennings, The Temptations, KISS, The Four Tops, Three Dog Night, George Jones, Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Loretta Lynn, Village People, Josh Turner, Rascal Flatts, Clay Aiken, Edwin McCain, Third Day, Blake Shelton, Earl Scruggs, Clay Walker, Brandy Clark, Vanilla Ice, Chris Brown, Casting Crowns, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Kellie Pickler, Darius Rucker, Newsboys, Bruce Springsteen, The Everly Brothers, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Scotty McCreery.^[11]

Fireworks[]

Fireworks are shot off nightly at 9:45 p.m. For years, the fireworks were shot off from the lake across from Gate 8. In 2011, the fireworks were shot off from a new location across the street from the fairgrounds. The new location offers additional safety, frees traffic congestion and offers a spectacular panoramic view above the Midway.

Free Entertainment[]

There are roaming ground entertainers across the fairgrounds, staged entertainment acts in Kiddieland Fun Park and outside the Expo Center, as well as continuous musical performances on the Bluegrass and Waterfall stages.

Grandstand Shows[]

The Sam Rand Grandstand is home to several special events during the N.C. State Fair. The grandstand is the site of the annual Tractor Pull and Demolition Derby. In addition, there are performances by Keith King and the King Action Sports Stunt Show. The stunt show includes freestyle, flatlander, ramp riders, inline skaters, skateboarders and Motocross.

Kiddieland Fun Park[]

Kiddieland Fun Park, located near Gate 1, is nestled under the trees near the Kiddieland carnival area. This section of the N.C. State Fair caters to children with shows, rides and attractions.

Carnival Rides and Games[]

The N.C. State Fair has the largest midway at any state fair.

Rides require tickets; some cost two to three tickets, while the wilder ones are five to six tickets.

In 2006, Powers Great American Midways, based out of Burgaw, North Carolina (corporate office is in Corfu, New York) won the midway contract for the fair.^[12] The company provides more than 100 rides each year, as well as carnival games and concession stands on the midway.

Since then, Powers Great American Midways has made steps to create an eco-friendly midway. These steps including the addition of LED lighting on nearly all the rides and using B20, a soybean-based biodiesel, to power all of the generators.

In 2011, Powers unveiled the refurbished SkyDiver, which is similar to a Ferris wheel in shape. The difference is that passengers ride in cages and can spin the cages in a barrel roll fashion. The 90-foot-tall ride was completely overhauled with a spectacular lighting display composed of about 100,000 energy-efficient LED lights.

Roller coasters[]

In 2008, Susan Ogden of Raleigh helped name the Pinfarri RC-48 roller coaster when it premiered on the midway. The Toxic Shock is a blue and orange roller coaster that is known for twists and banked curves.

The Ride[]

The train makes a loose turn out of the station and up a steep 70-foot (21 m) lift hill. It then proceeds down a banked twisting drop and into the first of three over-banked curves. At the base of the third over-banked curve, the track stays moderately banked and around a 3.0 g helix. The track levels and pulls into the station.

Another roller coaster, the Avalanche, is milder. The car pulls out of the station and around a 180-degree right turn onto the lift. The car ascends the 50-foot (15 m) lift and around another 180 turn to the right. The car then descends a 40-foot (12 m) drop, reaching 54 mph before climbing 40 feet (12 m) into the first banked curve. Around that and down a second 20-foot (6.1 m) drop that then takes you back up into the spiral, banking more heavily as you descend. You are warned about high g forces here but there are no strong g forces on this ride.^{[citation needed]} When you finally exit the spiral, you descend a small dip and pull into the station.

The State Fair Flyer[]

The State Fair added a new way to get around in 2016 when they built the State Fair Flyer, a 40-foot-high sky lift that has 126 seats that hang from a cable that stretches more than 1,400 feet across the fairgrounds. American Sky Lifts, based in Sanford, owns and built the massive machine at a cost of $1 million. A one-way trip on the State Fair Flyer costs $5, a round-trip ride is $8. The ride moves at 2 mph and has a lap restraint to keep passengers in their seat. American Sky Lifts has a 10-year lease to have the lift on the fairgrounds with an option for a 10-year renewal.^[13]

References[]

External links[]

• North Carolina State Fair website
• Blue Ribbon Memories: Your History of the NC State Fair
• Online archive of State Fair Premium Lists, 1860 to 2011, from the State Library of North Carolina.
• Photo gallery: Food vendor stands at 2008 North Carolina State Fair