Our family hasn't been to the fair in the past few years, and this year we decided it was a ‘Must'! As a family with young children (ages 2 and 6), we weren't sure how many things there would be to keep them occupied. My kids were too small for most of the rides, so we were afraid we might have some bored kids on our hands in a short time. We were pretty surprised to see how much there really was to do this year.

 Being an Agricultural fair, we were able to see many different animals and plants. These included huge beef cattle, milking and meat goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, rabbits, ponies and mules. We washed our hands many, many, times. My daughter really enjoyed seeing tobacco plants up close, but was disgusted with them when she found out what those huge leaves were used for. It was neat seeing the bundled up leaves hanging in the tobacco barn, and I explained that our State's economy really did depend on the production of tobacco not too long ago. She and I also loved looking at the Rose competition, there were so many beautiful varieties.

 The poultry tents were really interesting, especially to my family since we've recently been allowed to keep hens in Wake Forest. I have never seen so many different breeds of chickens in one place before! There were little bitty Bantams, Huge Turkeys of several breeds, and Chickens of all colors and sizes in between. It was also great to see the movable coop displayed there with plans available to purchase at a special "Fair" price. (visit http://affiliate.catawbacoops.com/pages/128.php) David Bissette, from Wake Forest was there to help folks understand how they too could have a small flock of laying hens in their backyard. Information was also available from the State about keeping your flock safe from infectious diseases.

 I especially enjoyed the exhibits where we had the opportunity to learn something about NC agriculture. I have lived in NC my entire life, and because I have always been in a city, I keep learning new things about NC agriculture each time I have the chance. I am a firm believer that without locally available produce and meats, our society's health and overall well-being will deteriorate.

 We also enjoyed the petting zoo (washed our hands again), rode a few rides, and checked out the public safety area of the fair. My son enjoyed checking out the school bus, and watching the remote-controlled smaller bus interacting with other children. He was a little scared when it started talking to him though. One of our favorite exhibits was the Green NC building. My daughter was able to make a model rocket with supplies from the Durham Scrap Exchange. What a great organization! At that exhibit, we were also able to see some of the ways our house could be more energy efficient.

 The NC Pottery display tent was really great to see too. My family has been traveling to the Seagrove area for pottery shopping for many years, and this is the first time I've seen it at our State Fair. I was very pleased! There were a good variety of Potter's works there, and they were really nice to ‘hold' your purchase until later in the day when you would want to come pick it up on the way out.

 Everyone in my family loved checking out the different animals sculptures that were painted by students at area high schools. My daughter's favorite was the one that was turned into a unicorn. I enjoyed the "Trojan" Rooster, which was located inside another one of our favorite exhibits. My kids both enjoyed seeing many of the State's produce being grown right there on the Fairgrounds property. Corn, Strawberries, Blueberries, and Soybeans were thriving and it was really neat to feel like you were on a farm, right in the midst of the State Fair! My kids really enjoyed ‘picking' apples, sweet potatoes, blueberries, and strawberries to then ‘sell' at the farmer's market. After they ‘sold' their produce at the market, they were able to ‘buy' (with play money) a goodie bag which had NC produced apples, peanuts, and a pencil. They were thrilled!

 Of course, we also tasted the Funnel Cakes, it was the first time for some of us—Yum!! My son slept through the funnel cake, but did try the deep fried Mac & Cheese—that didn't impress any of us much. We also enjoyed the hush puppies at the Old Grist Mill—a traditional ‘Fair Favorite!'

 If you missed the NC State Fair this year, you did miss something spectacular. There were so many fun things to do, and interesting things to see, that I'm sure we missed something. We were there for about 5 hours, and had a blast.  It seemed that there were about twice as many rides as I remember from the last time we came, and there were many more North Carolina based exhibits than I thought there would be. Make sure to put it on your calendar for next year—I know we will have it on ours!

Related Links

1. http://affiliate.catawbacoops.com/pages/128.php