USA Today: N.C. State Fair among nation’s bes


The North Carolina State Fair is on the “State Fair Round-up“of the best state fairs throughout the country, as reported by USA Today. The N.C. State Fair is cited for its full slate of entertainment, family-friendly activities, such as the Village of Yesteryear, and countless colorful agricultural exhibits, such as the Field of Dreams and a Flower and Garden Show. The theme for this year’s fair (Oct. 17-27) is “North Carolina’s Homecoming” to reflect the fact that people from all areas of the state and all walks of life come home to the N.C. State Fair to see friends and eat lots of great food. The fair’s mission is to showcase and promote the state’s agriculture, agribusiness, arts, crafts and culture through the annual agricultural fair.

The fair offers the agricultural community a venue to showcase its crops, livestock and new technology. The fair is also an opportunity for the state’s ever-increasing urban population to learn about agriculture through educational and competitive exhibits in the areas of livestock, horticulture, cooking, folk art and much more.

As a self-supporting operation, the Fairgrounds generates revenue by renting out its facilities for events throughout the year and by operating the annual State Fair. The N.C. State Fair is the largest 11-day event in North Carolina, attracting nearly one million attendees. The fair is managed and produced by the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services and is consistently ranked among the top 25 fairs in North America.