Fairgoers will have the opportunity to give back this year when they purchase their fair tickets online. The N.C. State Fair Cares program offers online ticket buyers the option to add a donation to the Food Band of Central & Eastern North Carolina directly to their ticket purchase at check out. The program will be kicked off by a $15,000 donation from House-Autry Mills.
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We’ve all been waiting anxiously for the return of the North Carolina State Fair, and while we still have 72 more days to go, the wait to buy your tickets is over! Save money and
skip the ticketing line at all gates by purchasing your tickets in advance! FastTrack gate admission, attraction tickets and several carnival options are on sale now until Oct. 14 at reduced prices.
Oct. 21
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced today that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will be the corporate partner for Hunger Relief Day at the 2021 N.C. State Fair. The popular event allows fairgoers to gain free admission to the Fair by donating canned food items.
The North Carolina State Fair, a division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, today announced a major partnership with Triangle tech leader Bandwidth Inc.
As part of the partnership, Bandwidth will become a major sponsor of the N.C. State Fair and the company’s team members will serve as volunteers at various events. Bandwidth will also co-host a key addition to the 2021 N.C. State Fair: accessABILITY Day, a new special event day for people with disabilities.
The 2021 State Fair Premium Book is finally here, and this year’s new competitions will certainly prove to have been worth the wait. This year’s State Fair will feature several new competitions open for entries. These new competitions were created in an effort to encourage competition entries as these simpler projects can be completed within weeks rather than some projects that can take up to a whole year.
Twenty-six North Carolina students have been named recipients of 2021 N.C. State Fair Youth Livestock Scholarships, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced.
The scholarships are designed for high school seniors and students currently enrolled in an institute of higher education who have participated in the junior livestock or market turkey shows at the N.C. State Fair.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler has announced the cancellation of the 2021 Got to Be NC Festival citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are making progress in the state getting people vaccinated against this deadly virus, but we still have a ways to go in these efforts before a larger percentage of the population is vaccinated,” Troxler said. “We want people to be able to come out and safely enjoy all the fun activities offered at the Got to Be NC Festival, but it doesn’t make sense at this time to try to hold this annual event.
The 2023 N.C. State Fair ended its 11-day run with a strong final weekend
that pushed total attendance to 926,425. Other fair highlights included a new auction record for
the Livestock Sale of Champions and strong participation for Smithfield Foods Hunger Relief
Day and competitive entries.
John Tyler Moore of Durham wrapped up the State Fair’s Home Chef Challenge series with a first-place win for his Brunch Balls recipe in the Nahunta Pork Center’s Not Your Mama’s Sausage Balls Challenge. Moore won the opening day contest, too. He took home $500 prize for the win.
Second place and a $300 prize went to Jill Moore of Chapel Hill for her Flaming Lime Sausage Balls. Third place and $200 went to Kimberly Howell of Raleigh for her for her Slap Yo Sweet Mama – Pineapple Jalapeno Sausage Balls recipe.
The winning recipe follows:
Mother of four Kim Cooper of Carolina Beach earned a blue ribbon and a $500 prize in the Let's Get Cheesy: Mac-n-Cheese Challenge with her family recipe for Mema’s Mac & Cheese.
Jessica Williams of Raleigh took second place and won $300 for her loaded seafood mac and cheese. Allison Wylie of Garner took third place and won $200 for her Korean fried chicken mac and cheese.
The winning recipe follows:
Mema’s Mac & Cheese
Ingredients: