RALEIGH – Live music, leaping dogs and a North Carolina storyteller will be part of the entertainment lineup at the 2015 Got to Be NC Festival at the State Fairgrounds May 15-17.
“Whether you’re interested in animals, music or fireworks, we’re going to have something for the whole family to enjoy,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
The Waterfall Stage outside Dorton Arena will feature a variety of music during the weekend. Country-rock band Hicksboro Station will perform Friday. Bluegrass music will be highlighted Saturday with performances by Nu-Blu plus the annual bluegrass band competition. On Sunday, North Tower will bring its blend of beach, oldies and top 40 music to the stage.
Storyteller Tyris Jones of Laurinburg joins the Waterfall Stage lineup this year, with daily performances.
The Grandstand will host a variety of animal attractions on Friday, including demonstrations by the DogGoneFast Flyball Club. Flyball is a relay race featuring dogs leaping hurdles and catching tennis balls. Also at the Grandstand Friday, there will be flag presentations on horseback and demonstrations by the Wake County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit.
An antique tractor pull will anchor the Grandstand on Saturday, and there will be a garden tractor and lawnmower pull Sunday.
In the Children’s Barnyard area, visitors can watch Clicks of Confidence with Lauryn Zapeda and her mustang Gringo, who will delight audiences each day with tricks Gringo has learned through positive reinforcement. Zapeda has spent the past seven years coaching horses in Brunswick County. Using a tool called a “clicker,” Zapeda encourage her horses to sit, lie down and side-step.
The action-packed, educational and humorous Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show will take place daily near the Rabbit Barn.
Festival mainstays, the racing pigs of the Hogway Speedway, will be back again near the midway. And on Friday and Saturday at 9:15 p.m., festival visitors can enjoy fireworks presented by Brinkley Entertainment.
The 2015 Got to Be NC Festival presented by Lowes Foods is a production of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Festival hours are Friday from noon to 10 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Gate admission and parking are free.
Entertainment schedules and other details are available at www.gottobencfestival.com.