Following is a list of winners in the N.C. Mountain State Fair livestock shows held Sept. 12-17:Llama Performance Champions Show – Sept. 12Sub-Junior PerformanceChampion – Kimber Abendroth, Henderson CountyJunior Performance Champion – Emmalyn Munsey, Henderson CountyIntermediate Performance Champion – Aniyah Bechdel, Henderson CountySenior Performance Champion – Randi Mae Eatmon, Transylvania CountyYouth Poultry Show – Sept. 14
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N.C. State Fair visitors should bring an appetite for fun with four new amusement rides,two new grounds entertainers and over 30 new food items being part of the stellar lineup planned Oct. 12-22 in Raleigh.RidesNew rides range from the elegantly beautiful two-tiered Venetian Carousel to the high voltage thrills of Tesla AC, which is capped offed with six brightly lit lightning bolts hovering above two-person cars that attach to spinning and dipping arms.
Sharon Gates of Leicester continued to impress judges during the final week of the Mountain State Fair, winning the N.C. Blueberry Council’s From Scratch Contest and $200 for her blueberry mousse recipe. This victory was in addition to Gates’ wins in the Tomato Growers Association’s Fresh Tomatoes Contest and the N.C. Cattlemen’s Beef Council Classic Comfort Food Contest earlier in the Mountain State Fair.
Following is a list of winners in the livestock shows held during the first weekend of the N.C. Mountain State Fair, Sept. 8-10:ARBA Youth Rabbit Show
Local winners took home $900 in prize money for winning recipes in contests sponsored by the N.C. Egg Association and N.C. Dairy Producers Association at the Mountain State Fair.Amy Braman (pictured above left) of Pisgah Forest earned first-place honors and $200 with her elote (Mexican street corn) frittata recipe, finishing ahead of Sharon Gates of Leicester who took home $150 and second place for her deluxe pizza frittata recipe. Jennifer Currie of Clyde earned $100 and third place for her Dear Me, This is Gouda breakfast frittata recipe.
As North Carolina transitions to the fall, the N.C. Forest Service is reminding the public to be careful, ready and responsible when burning outdoors. Typically, wildfires occur more frequently from October through early December. Outdoor fires left unattended can get out of hand quickly, becoming wildfires that threaten lives and property. In 2022, there were nearly 6,400 wildfires that burned more than 24,000 acres in North Carolina, 99% of which were human caused.
To celebrate the fall harvest and the bounty of crops available in North Carolina, the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market will host its first Harvest Festival Oct. 1 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The N.C. State Fair is just around the corner, and it will surely be your “Best.Day.EVER!”To prepare for the Fair, this weekend will be the last weekend for the flea market before the fairgrounds closes to the public. The Raleigh Market will close at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24, and will re-open at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.
The N.C. Specialty Foods Association recently announced winners of its 2023 Best in Taste product competition during the final virtual Summer of Learning event. The Durham Toffee Company earned grand champion honors for its Espresso Crunch, beating out a total of 163 entries across 12 categories in this year’s competition.
The N.C. Mountain State Fair wrapped up a successful run with a total attendance of 147,278.“We measure success in many different ways and by every measure it was a great fair,” said fair general manager Sean McKeon. “We saw a lot of smiles and happy faces, we saw strong numbers in our youth participating in general competitions and livestock shows, we helped give back to the community through our community days and special competitions and the fair helped families create lifelong memories.