Although a drizzly, overcast day is not what fair organizers hoped for, that's what they were stuck with on Thursday afternoon when the gates opened. But it didn't keep people away.

For the second year in a row, the fair started with a preview day, with rides and exhibits opening at 3 p.m. Even in the damp chill, 37,932 people strolled through.

That beats last year's attendance of 35,215.

If the weather holds, big crowds could fill the fairgrounds this weekend. Saturday's Kellie Pickler concert is sold out, and only a few hundred tickets remain for tonight's Third Day show.

If you're thinking of attending the Blake Shelton or Eric Church concerts, don't dawdle. Tickets for those are going fast. 

Something country, something Christian, something television-related -- and most all if it rather wholesome. Sounds like the live-concert lineup for the 2009 North Carolina State Fair. One headliner is still to be announced, but so far it looks like this:

Oct. 15 -- Jason Michael Carroll
Oct. 16 -- Third Day
Oct. 17 -- Kellie Pickler
Oct. 18 -- Nat and Alex Wolff (from Nickelodeon's Naked Brothers Band)
Oct. 19 -- Jamey Johnson
Oct. 20 -- Temptations featuring Dennis Edwards
Oct. 21 -- Julianne Hough ("Dancing With the Stars" champion)
Oct. 22 -- To be announced.
Oct. 23 -- Jeremy Camp, Tenth Avenue North
Oct. 24 -- Blake Shelton
Oct. 25 -- Eric Church

Incoming governor Bev Perdue has a most impressive lineup of North Carolina acts set to play at her inaugural ball in Raleigh next month. The festivities kick off Jan. 8 at the Lincoln Theatre with pop bands old and new, Dillon Fence and Pico vs. Island Trees. Then on Jan. 9, the formal ball at the Raleigh Convention Center will have musicians including Durham jazzman Branford Marsalis, Granite Falls-born country singer Eric Church and two of the Triangle's best alternative-country acts, Tres Chicas and Chatham County Line.

For complete lineup and ticket details, check here.