The North Carolina State Fair opens Thursday, October 17, at noon, and runs through October 27. It features food, rides, musical events, exhibits, contests, and more.

This year is the 156th State Fair, growing from a four-day event in 1853 that drew 4,000 people to what is now an 11-day experience that averages more than 900,000 attendees every year. The fair gives attendees a taste of North Carolina in more ways than one.

North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler told media on Monday that agribusiness are a $111.1 billion industry in NC, and the state fair is the “largest, brightest, flashiest platform” to showcase the industry.

“More and more people are two or three generations removed from the farm, and grocery stores and farmers markets are the main places to buy food, which means understanding the connection between the farm and the table is less apparent,” said Troxler in a press conference at Raleigh’s Dorton Arena. “I want people to know where their food comes from and that agriculture and agribusiness make up the state’s leading industry.”

Troxler said the fair helping people connect with NC agriculture, introducing it to newcomers and those unfamiliar with the state’s No. 1 industry. In addition to rides and food, this year’s fair will feature livestock shows and highlight the fruits, vegetables, plants, and flowers grown in the state. Dairy exhibits, soil and water and forestry displays, antique farm equipment, working tobacco barns, and heritage crafters who use agricultural products will also be on display.

Visitors can sample food and beverage products to sample apple cider at the Got to Be NC Pavilion. Christmas trees, horses, our farm families and the “Field of Dreams” gardens will also draw crowds as they do every year.

The “Field of Dreams” exhibit is celebrating its 20th anniversary at this year’s fair. The exhibit allows children to walk around specialty gardens and make connections between the food they see growing and the food they see on their plates. There, children experience what it is like to be a farmer harvesting vegetables grown on the fairgrounds and they can then take that food to the “market” and reap the rewards of their labor with “fair bucks” and a prize pack of NC products.

The demonstration stage in this exhibit will feature NC commodities and chefs from popular NC restaurants. Many food vendors, sponsors, and commercial exhibitors also call this state home. This exhibit is located near Gate 1 and the Dorton Arena.

The Tobacco Barn’s 20th Anniversary

The Tobacco Barn is also celebrating its 20th anniversary at the fair, an exhibit with personal significance to Troxler.

“I wanted a tobacco barn to be the centerpiece of a transformed and reinvigorated Heritage Circle, much like tobacco barns had been the foundation of rural communities across the state,” said Troxler. “I looked around and saw my heritage and way of growing up disappearing around me, and I wanted to do something to show people what that was like. I thought curing a barn of tobacco during the State Fair using the traditional ways was the perfect demonstration for Heritage Circle.”

Fairgoers can step back and see a working tobacco barn as the crop is strung, cured, and auctioned. The barn will be filled on Friday, Oct 18, from noon to 5 pm, but a stringing contest is open to all and held at 2 pm on Oct 18. The contest will award a state champion.

Once the barn is loaded, the tobacco will be woodfire-cured for seven days. Fairgoers can stop by throughout the week to see this, and on Oct 25 at 2 pm, a mock tobacco auction will be held in the Tobacco Pavilion.

more to celebrate

On Monday, October 21, Century Farm families are invited to the fairgrounds for a family reunion. The Century Farm program honors farms for their longstanding contributions to the state’s rich agricultural heritage. The state fair hosts a reunion every four years to recognize Century Farm families. There are 2,006 member farms in the program, with 97 of the state’s 100 counties represented. Century Farms represent a small fraction of the total 42,817 farms in North Carolina. Approximately 2,300 people representing about 700 farms are expected at this year’s reunion.

All the musical acts on the Live and Local Waterfall Music Stage powered by Curtis Media and the Heritage Circle Stage are from NC, as are many of the crafters in Heritage Circle and the Village of Yesteryear.

The exhibit halls “are filled with the talents and hard work of North Carolinians, whether it be a farmer competing in our commercial sweet potato box display competition, a quilter that has entered our quilting competition, a cake decorator, or a youth that might be showing in our livestock shows for the first time,” said Troxler.

This year’s state fair features 96 rides, including two new rides, 72 new foods, and various new and returning exhibits and entertainment. This is in addition to all the traditional foods, entertainment, contests, and activities you can find year after year at the NC State Fair.

Tickets for this year’s state fair can be purchased in advance. The NC State Fair website has a full list of events, attractions, competitions, etc.