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The 150th North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh kicked off Oct. 12. The tagline for this year is “Nothing Could Be Finer” and the atmosphere around the fair is trying to live up to that.
This year, the fair has introduced new food, exhibits and rides that will keep people of all ages entertained. The fair Introduced The Amish Baking Company which makes donuts from scratch.
Sam Peachey, one the owners of The Amish Baking Co. was very excited to be a part of the fair this year. “So far the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Mr. Peachy. “We’ve been doing the Dixie Classic in Winston-Salem for the past six years and a lot of the people that come to that, travel to raleigh. So, that helped us get our foot in the door here.”
After listening to the feedback given by fairgoers, the fair had an exhibit where patrons could sample different types of alcoholic beverages. Our state Public showcased wine and beer from 80 breweries and wineries across North Carolina.
Entry into this exhibit is $10 and patrons have a choice of sampling wine or beer. Since people cannot walk around with alcohol, it is restricted to a space near the Garden Show.
With all the additions to the fair, it can be easy to forget things that have been at the fair for years. The Village of Yesteryear allows people to showcase and sale their handcrafted items. The items range from pottery to quiltmaking to even paper origami.
Carol and Dennis Willis own Carden Farm Soaps. They make their soaps from scratch which are vegetable oil based. They have had a stand at The Village of Yesteryear for the past 15 years. “The climate this year has been pretty good. It feels good to be a part of the 150th anniversary,” Dennis explained.
Each year, Carol and Dennis do something special for the fair. “Every year, we take the bits from the sample soaps and melt them into one soap. This year we have the soap ‘NC State Fair 2017’. People ask do we have soap from 2016 and we have to tell them no,” Dennis stated.
Dean Wilms, a junior at William Peace University, had a chance to go to the fair. “It was cool to see people from around the area submit award winning material to some of the handmade exhibitions. It feels good to see creativity from all ages,” Dean explained passionately. “I think that brought the whole fair together. Oh, and the apple cider was delicious too.”
In the Garden Show, the fair implemented something that is fun for all ages. The Dream City LouSapiens. Two performers walk on stilts around the garden to take pictures and interact with fairgoers.
Since the fair started on Oct. 12, the fair has had over 600,000 people that have attended. The fair will ran until Oct. 22.