Imagine it is the first week in October and you are driving down 440 looking out the window at the fair grounds. The excitement looms in the air. Each day as you drive home from work, you see more and more bulbs being lit against the dark silhouettes of the metal forms being built. Then, as if it were erected overnight, the most recognizable staple of any carnival, the giant ferris wheel. It peers out and looks over all of the other favorite rides like a historical statue. It leaves the infamous Dorton Arena merely in the background of what will soon be one of the state’s largest agricultural events of the year! This is no ordinary county carnival, it is the State Fair!
There’s nothing better than a crisp autumn day and the smell of funnel cakes and kielbasa lingering in the air. Walking down the midway listening to all of the off tune carousel songs and loud thumps of bass from last year’s hit songs you wonder what brought you here. You watch people meander along, nearly missing the half eaten french-fries and ketchup under their feet. You’ll find yourself picking pieces of giant turkey leg and charred corn on the cob from your teeth for weeks, but these are all parts of the memories to be had at the state fair. You will never experience such a variety of fried foods; Twinkies, Oreos, pickles, candy bars, bologna, cheese and who knows what they will fry up with this year. Trust me on this one, starve yourself for a day and then let your epicurean cravings direct you into a world of pulled pork and homemade fudge.
The games are pretty much the same each year, so bring lots of cash because you WILL spend 23 dollars trying to win a 10 cent stuffed Tweety Bird. Expect the same rides to return and the wacky haunted houses and largest pumpkin contests. No matter if you chose to look at the “World’s Largest Rat” or venture into the Ripley’s Believe It or Not tent, remember that you are creating a tradition that will last a lifetime. And you MUST get an airbrushed baseball cap with your name spelled out in hot pink glitter.
I wait in anticipation for this time of the year. If you have never been or have skipped out on it the last few years, make sure you start your tradition of going to the NC State Fair this year. With all of the good food and entertainment, you can turn a cheap $5 ticket (buy in advance) into a day full of fun and end the night with a fireworks show (no waiting for the Fourth of July). Mark your calendar for October 15-25. Plus the 2009 NC State Fair’s web site has a pleasantly kitschy look to it. Check it out at ncstatefair.org.