newsobserver.com blogs -- statefair

Cake aces, we salute you

togburn — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:15:28 -0400

We couldn't let this year's fair end without talking about one of our favorite things -- the decorated cakes.

This year's entries are some of the most creative ever. A giant, spooky haunted house. An intricate Asian silk pattern. An overflowing toy box.

There's even a cake designed to look exactly look a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We understand there are actual donuts inside. We'll have to take the word of fair officials -- they won't let us get too close to the cakes. (Likely with good reason!)

Still, our favorite was the cake designed to look just like Duff and the gang from Charm City Cakes, as seen on the Food Network's "Ace of Cakes." Just ponder that for a second -- a specially designed cake that honors the real cake decorators who are featured on a reality TV show all about creating specially designed cakes. Kind of makes your head spin, huh?

Look into these and learn

togburn — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:52:13 -0400

One of the most unusual experiences for adults at the fair comes not from a ride, but from the "Beer Goggles" demonstration at the State Highway Patrol's tent.

Try on the specialty goggles, then attempt to walk a straight line. The eyewear simulates how hard it would be to keep your balance and your wits if you were legally drunk.

There are usually giggles when folks are trying the goggles on, but the message is dead serious -- don't drink and drive.

The patrol's tent is near the back of Dorton Arena.

Up and down like a roller-coaster

togburn — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:40:47 -0400

As the State Fair headed into its final weekend, attendance was up, then down.

Friday's attendance at the State Fair was 63,310 -- that's up a bit from 63,231 on the same day last year.

On Saturday, rainy weather early in the day dampened attendance, which topped out at 76,296. On the same day last year, the fair set a single-day record, with a whopping 145,955 attending.

The fair had a picture-perfect fall day for its finale today.

Battle of the sweet potatoes

RichardStradling — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:20:03 -0400

Are men and women really that different? Apparently when it comes to sweet potatoes, they are.

That’s the word from Russel Slate (a.k.a “Pa” Tater), a 62-year-old farmer from Lawsonville who oversees the potato exhibit at the Expo Center. Last year, he explained, eight men and eight women sampled two varieties of sweet potatoes - the Stokes Purple and the Beauregard. The results were revealing.

“All eight men preferred the purple potato because it was creamy with a firm texture,” Slate said. “But seven out of eight of the women liked the Beauregard because it was softer.”

However, when the women were told that the Stokes Purple was better for them - it has twice the Vitamin E of blueberries, Slate said enthusiastically - “they said they’d switch.”

Who knew?

Slate said he doesn’t sell his favorite variety of sweet potatoes. “The Covingtons and the Beauregards are the most popular types because you can get 650 to 750 boxes of them per acre,” he said. “But the Puerto Ricans are the sweetest and best. Thing is they’re the ugliest things you’ve ever seen, and you can only get about 150 to 200 boxes of them per acre.”

He paused, then added, “Farmers like to say ‘We plant many to sell and a few to eat.'”

Potters named crafters of the year

RichardStradling — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:03:12 -0400

Potters proved popular at the fair this year, at least among their crafting peers in the Village of Yearyear.

David Garner and Senora Lynch were voted “crafters of the year” by the 100 or so artists and crafters in the village. The village, in the domed Holshouser Building, is where woodworkers, soap makers, jewelry makers and a host of others demonstrate and sell their work.

Garner owns Turn and Burn Pottery in Seagrove, while Lynch does Native-American pottery in Hollister.

Bring your old glasses to the fair

RichardStradling — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:50:20 -0400

Old eyeglasses are lot like old books — you don't really need them but the thought of throwing them away just feels wrong. So they become a problem without a solution.

Until now.

The North Raleigh Lions Club is accepting eyewear donations — sunglasses, reading glasses, prescription glasses and even empty frames — at its booth in the back of the Commercial Building.

"We haven't been getting too many," said Leonard C. Wilburn. "It's not because they're not willing, they just don't know we're here. They say, 'If only I knew, I've got 14 pair at home that I need to get rid of.'"

Wilburn said the donated glasses are sent to one of the Lions Club's 16 eyeglass recycling centers where they are refurbished and then given to poor people around the world.

"For some people getting a pair of glasses means that they can finally see their grandchildren or they can get a job," Wilburn says.

For more information, visit the Lions' Commercial Building booth or go online at www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/vision_eyeglass_sight.shtml.

The sounds of selling ...

togburn — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:24:28 -0400

The music was first rate but the lyrics left a little to be desired: hum-in-a, hum-in-a, hum-in-a, 2, hum-in-a, hum-in-a, 3, sold American.

At least that’s what the tobacco auctioneer’s sing-song cadence sounded like as he demonstrated his talent at the Exposition Center. The lovely sounds of his call — a mix of earthy folk blues and birdsong — only mattered to those pretending to buy the 200 pound sacks of golden leaf tobacco. Still some inquiring minds wanted to know: What is he saying.

“Mostly numbers,” explained 70-year-old G. Sherwood Stewart, who auctioned tobacco from Georgia to Kentucky for almost 50 years. “I say the bid, 81, 1,1 until I get two, then 82, 2, 2, 2, 83, 3.”

Stewart’s parents were tenant farmers in Smithfield. “I saw how hard my father worked and thought there has to be a better way than this,” he said.

He saw his first auction at age 10 and began working when he was 15. He stopped in 2001, as the tobacco industry phased out the auction system in favor of contracts.

Stewart said his wife had always told him he had musical talent. “She said that if I put as much energy into country music as I did into auctioneering, I would have been a star. But my heart was always in tobacco.”

70 years of fair food for a good cause

RichardStradling — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:06:34 -0400

Tommy Highsmith has been selling food at the State Fair since the 194Os - not for profit, but to support outreach programs at the Westover United Methodist Church in Raleigh.

“This has been a major fundraiser for us since the church was started in the 1940s,” said Highsmith, who grew up within sight of the fairgrounds. “That’s about the only thing that hasn’t changed.”

Today, church volunteers prepare ham biscuits, hot dogs, cheeseburgers and other foods on restaurant-sized griddles. Back in the early days, Highsmith recalled, “the women would bake pound cakes, brownies and other desserts at home and bring them here in baskets. They’d usually sell about half of what they had before they made it to our little cubicle with the flags flying on top.”

He remembers joining the large crowds at the railroad tracks on the Sunday night before the fair when the rides and exhibits would arrive. “The fair only lasted four and half days then,” he said. “When it closed midnight Saturday they’d take about two weeks to take everything down and clean up and then lock up the fairgrounds until the next year. Not like today where they have something going on everyday.”

As a child he loved the midget auto racing. When he got a little older, he would sneak a peak at the “hoochie-coochie shows they used to have here.”

These days he spends most of his time with the other church volunteers. The fair booth is their major fundraiser, usually clearing about $20,000 for outreach ministries, a rescue mission, programs for the handicapped and other charitable efforts.

“We’re a little down this year, maybe 8 percent,” Highsmith said. “But the mood is always good at the fair.”

Fairgoers help feed the hungry

RichardStradling — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:51:58 -0400

The N.C. State Fair’s annual canned food drive generated more than 166,000 pounds of donated food on Thursday.

Fairgoers received one free admission ticket, valued at up to $7, for every four cans of food they brought to the fair. The cans were collected by the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, which provides food to local soup kitchens and food pantries in a 34-county area.

Known this year as Food Lion Hunger Relief Day, the canned food drive is one of the largest in the state. This year’s donations are enough to provide about 140,000 meals, according to the food bank.

Like fair attendance itself, the volume of food donations was down from last year, when 174,000 pounds were collected. The attendance Thursday was 80,094, or about 8,700 less than last year.

Fair attendance down again, but still better than it used to be

RichardStradling — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:43:41 -0400

Thursday was another down day for N.C. State Fair attendance compared to last year, but fair officials have begun to take a longer view.

The attendance Thursday was 80,094, or about 8,700 less than last year. It was sixth day out of seven that fair attendance has lagged last year.

But today’s attendance announcement from state Department of Agriculture points out that the 20-year average attendance for Thursday is 70,504, so this year’s number looks pretty good by comparison.

Overall, 523,686 people had attended the fair through Thursday, down from 550,992 last year. This year’s total includes an extra half a day last Thursday that was supposed to help push total fair attendance to a new record.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said bad weather, high gas prices and the souring economy have made this year challenging.

“I’m still hopeful that we’ll make up the numbers this weekend, when we’re supposed to have sunshine and the 70s,” Troxler said. “We’re probably not going to break last year’s record [858,611] but we should do better than 2006 [785,956] that was our lowest number for the last five years. My guess is we’ll end up somewhere in the middle of the five year average."

Artful animals

togburn — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:07:15 -0400

Looking at the animals is always a highlight of the State Fair. But some of this year's most memorable cows, chickens and horses aren't straight from the farm — they are art projects from Triangle high schools.

The "Farm Animal Frenzy" competition pitted high school art students from Wake and Durham counties to see who could decorate the best barnyard beast.

Apex High School's "Murial, the Dairy Queen," above, took home first place and the
$1,000 grand prize.

"Javier at the Fair," a chicken decorated by Fuquay-Varina High students, won second place and $750 cash. "Ms. Moo," a cow designed by Sanderson High in Raleigh, won third place and $500. Both are shown below.

Fair judges also selected "Corny Carney Carl" by Wakefield High, "Playin' Hooky" by Garner High and an unnamed horse by N.C. School of Math and Science students as honorable mentions.

Fair numbers still down Wednesday

togburn — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:55:14 -0400

Wednesday's attendance at the State Fair was 67,028 people — down from last year's 75,746 on the Wednesday of the fair.

Fair vendors are seeing smaller crowds this year than last. Some blame the struggling economy, while others point to chilly weather.

Since the fair opened last Thursday, only Tuesday has seen attendance higher than the same day last year. Overall through Wednesday, fair attendance was 443,592 — down from 462, 191 for the same period last year. This year's fair also included an extra half day open on Thursday.

Officials are hoping for attendance to rebound today, when fairgoers can get in free with a donation of four cans of food. Traditionally, Can Day gives the fair a nice attendance spike.

Fun with pecans

RichardStradling — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:16:13 -0400

As the food writer at The News & Observer, Andrea Weigl is asked to judge a lot of cooking contests. The State Fair is no different.

Today, Weigl judged the N.C. Pecan Association contest, which sought recipes for appetizer, main course or a dessert involving 1 cup of pecans. As you might imagine, she tasted a lot of sweet pecan desserts: Pecan Cupcakes with Apple Butter Cream Cheese Frosting, Harvest Honey Pecan Cakes, even Pecan Turtle Fudge Pie.

Andrea sent us the following dispatch from the judging room, explaining how things work:

"The judging is blind. The judges read the recipes but don't know who authored the recipe and entered the dish.

The judges were split into two groups. My group tasted 12 of the 24 entries. The other three judges tasted the other 12. Then each group collectively ranked our top four and tasted the other team's top four. Then each judge individually ranked their top four out of the top eight dishes.

I'm always surprised by what I learn about my palate during these contests: that cream cheese and grapes make a nice salad with brown sugar and pecans on top; that I can have a wildly different view on a pecan-glazed brie dish than another judge.

In the end, I believe sweetness fatigue contributed to my first choice, a wild rice strudel with pecans, which ultimately won the blue ribbon. Who would have guessed? The creator of that recipe turned out to be Felice Bogus, the competitive cook I wrote about last year as I followed her testing recipes for the State Fair's cooking contests.

The painting pig is not missing; he moved

RichardStradling — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:23:08 -0400

Fran Martin, the owner-trainer of Smithfield the Painting Pig, called to say she’s worried some fair visitors won’t find him this week.

Apparently Smithfield’s three daily performances have been moved from the Expo Center to a spot between the Expo Center and the Kelley Building, something that’s not reflected in the fair’s printed schedule.

Smithfield demonstrates his skill with a paint brush at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Gettin' jiggy with Jared

togburn — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:17:49 -0400

Wilmington student Evan Real, 17, danced his way to victory Wednesday at the fair's “Pants Dance Revolution” contest. Now, we hope he's hungry for some Subway sandwiches.

The dance event, sponsored by Triangle Subway restaurants, brought together Evan and four other groups of finalists from across North Carolina to dance in front of a crowd on the fair's Waterfall Stage. The finalists were selected from state residents who posted videos of themselves dancing on YouTube.

After he was judged best dancer of the finalists, Evan won a year’s supply of Subway sandwiches, a Nintendo Wii, a Wii Fit and a pair of 60-inch-waist pants signed by Subway spokesman Jared Fogle.

Fogle, who was at the fair, wears much smaller pants these days, after famously losing more than 245 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches and exercising.

The other dance finalists were Nicholas Springer, 4, of Raleigh; Devin Bazemore, 17, of Wake Forest; Austin Ward, 16, and Bobby Demoss, 17, both of Knightdale; and Sterling C. Franklin, 25, of Cary.

Our one question: Just what will Evan do with those giant pants? Think there's a market for them on eBay?

Maple cotton candy hits the sweet spot

togburn — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:13:56 -0400

Forget the fried Twinkies, candy bars and whatever else (battered Oreo sundaes? Has it come to this?) they are dropping into hot oil this year. The ever-expanding category of Things That Are Fried That Shouldn’t Be is a cynical marketing grab for attention.

No. Put down that slice of deep-fried pecan pie and step back, turn and walk to the Commercial Building in the southeast corner of the Fairgrounds. Hunt until you find the tiny MacLeod Farms booth. Then hand Martin Broggini $3.50, and he will give you a sack of pure spun Vermont.

Yes, it LOOKS like cotton candy, except for the color, a pale, almost gold shade of tan. That’s right, cotton candy made from pure maple sugar.

“There’s no fat!” Broggini boasts, neatly side-stepping a discussion of carbs and calories. Though it’s probably not bad compared with most of the foodstuffs for sale at the fair, because it’s only four or five tablespoons of maple sugar.

The business was started by Broggini’s father-in-law and has been coming to the fair for 34 years. The Brogginis also will sell you just about anything mapleish, from cookies to candies. They really know syrup, which they make themselves after tapping about 1,000 trees.

They’ll sell it to you by the gallon. But there couldn’t be a better merger of maple and fair than the cotton candy, which is sublime.

Thirty-four years? And no one told me?

Guess my weight — quietly please

togburn — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:06:59 -0400

As a weight guesser, Mike Caron knows that loose lips will get you socked in the gut — esepecially when the customer is on the portly side.

So he's always careful to ask, "Do you want me to guess out loud, or write it down?" It's a professional precaution. Nobody wants the whole midway to know the weight-guesser thinks you're a porker.

"I got hit once," Caron said. "Now I ask."

But flattering patter always works — even when it's a tad flirtatious. As he hands an inflatable baseball bat to a winning mother and her toddler, he jokes, "My guidance counselor was wrong. Women pay me to look at them."

Hay now!

togburn — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:44:57 -0400

In what may be the quietest nook of the State Fair, a walled-off corner of the Jim Graham Building, sit 24 squares of hay, each with a prize ribbon.

Who knew that hay can be superlative? Heck, who knew there were different kinds?

Hay seems like a timeless crop, one that would change — if at all — at a Darwinian pace. There’s hot news from the hay front, though: There is a growing locavore movement for, uh, herbivores.

North Carolina can produce fabulous hay, and people rally should try to buy local, said Sue Ellen Johnson, a forage specialist with the Department of Crop Science at N.C. State University, one of the two contest judges.

The N.C. Cooperative Extension and the North Carolina Forage and Grassland Council — which sponsor the contest — are promoting the growth of high-quality hay in the state. Indeed, the winning entries at the fair are often used for demonstrations. The sponsors also are hoping to persuade more horse owners and cattle farmers to buy local hay.

There are nine potential types of hay that can be entered — though only entries in eight categories this year. They are graded on a range of qualities. Weeks before the fair, entrants have to submit samples of their hay for analysis in a lab. It’s checked for protein and fiber content — less fiber means more useful mass — and nitrates, which can be harmful.

Early on the first day of the fair, the judges examined each entry again and again, checking for impurities such as rocks, mustiness that would signify mold, leafiness and “excessive leaf shatter” — meaning leaves that are so dry they are likely to crumble and fall away as the hay is handled.

If the cows and horses knew about the contest, they might well break out of their pens. Some of this stuff — the best alfalfa entries for example — smell almost good enough for a human to eat.

Mighty mice

togburn — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:52:31 -0400

Lest you think the mice in the "Mouse Game" lead a tough life, the game's workers have a disclaimer posted.

In the game, which is near the Exposition Center, a mouse is placed on a roulette-style board. He pauses for a moment, then runs into one of the multicolored holes. Players have placed 50-cent bets on individual colors. If Mr. Mouse picks your color hole, you win a stuffed animal.

The sign notes that individual mice are rotated out on an hourly basis. It also says that the mice are fed a strict, healthy diet of "commercially produced grain and distilled water."

We just hope they also are kept safe from the exhibit right across the way — the 20-foot-long, 300-pound "live snake"!

There's gold in these here animals

togburn — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:47:18 -0400

Big, blue ribbons are nice, to be sure. But for some exhibitors of animals at the fair, a winning entry also can bring some big, green cash.

How much cash? Check these prices out:

—the Grand Champion Turkey, exhibited by Garrett See, was bought for $6,600.

—the Grand Champion Lamb, exhibited by Alyson Moore, was purchased for $7,000.

—the Grand Champion Steer, exhibited by Taylor Ridling, was bought for a whopping $24,000.

All of these pricey winning animals can be seen in the Exposition Center.

And the buyer in each case? Harris Teeter.

Attendance still down Monday

togburn — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:23:57 -0400

For the fourth day Monday, State Fair attendance was down from last year.

On Monday, 54,532 people attended the fair, compared with 63,032 on the same day last year.

Since the fair's opening Thursday, only one day — the half day the fair was open Thursday — exceeded the attendance of last year. Of course, last year's fair didn't open on that first Thursday.

Even with the extra half day added in, this year's total attendance so far — 305,365 people — is down from 316,628 people at this point last year.

These machine guns will take your money

MattEhlers — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:17:01 -0400

During my teen years, I spent a summer working the gaming midway at a Kentucky amusement park. In that time, I learned a little something about separating a customer from his hard-earned money.

The most sure-fire approach? Get him to play Shoot Out the Star.

Long a midway staple, Shoot Out the Star offers some of the biggest prizes at this year's N.C. State Fair, and for good reason: it's nearly impossible to win.

For $3, gamers get 100 BBs to shoot a paper star with a machine-gun replica. During my entire summer at the amusement park, I know of four people who won the game. Hundreds of thousands of people passed through the park that year.

So don't let those shot-out-stars trick you into thinking it's easy. Spend that $3 on a corn dog instead.

Fair attendance continues to lag last year

RichardStradling — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:20:52 -0400

For the third straight day, attendance at the N.C. State Fair on Sunday was below last year’s numbers, and a spokesman said weather may have been a factor.

Despite clear skies, Sunday’s brisk weather may have dampened attendance, particularly after the sun went down, said Brian Long, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Sunday’s 85,495 visitors was about 8,000 fewer than the same day last year.

“I think the cool temperatures probably were a factor yesterday,” Long said. “I noticed we didn’t have a huge night-time crowd last night.”

Attendance at the first three full days of the fair is 215,618, compared to 253,596 last year. Another 35,215 people attended the extra half day added to the beginning of this year's fair on Thursday.

Temperatures are expected to rebound into the mid-60s today and the lower 70s on Tuesday, under mostly sunny skies.

“We’ll see if the weather was a factor or not over the next couple of days,” Long said.

Special days

RichardStradling — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:23:50 -0400

Senior citizens and military personel will have their days at the State Fair this week.

Anyone 65 and older gets into the fair free every day, but on Tuesday seniors also get a free breakfast and a festival just for them. The Senior Citizens Fun Festival takes place in Dorton Arena starting at 9 a.m.

On Wednesday, active duty, reserve and National Guard service members or their spouses with valid military ID will be admitted free along with four guests. There will be special military-themed activities and concerts by military bands from across the state, beginning at 9 a.m.

Future farmers find fake tattoos

MattEhlers — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:29:46 -0400

It takes a little while for fair folks to warm up on a chilly Monday morning. As the sausage guys prepare for the lunch crowd, the guess-your-weight people bark into the emptiness, and for the most part, the rides aren't too busy.

This morning, not long after 10, Seth Norwall's henna tattoo booth was one of the few Midway attractions gathering much of a crowd.

As Emily Kenyon and Kisha Maness of Ramseur got matching tattoos on their necks, a small group of aprehensive onlookers gathered to watch. The girls, both 17, came to the fair as part of Eastern Randolph High School's FFA day. (That's Future Farmers of America).

After handing over $8 and sitting still for about three minutes, Kisha proudly showed off her temporary tattoo. According to the translation provided inside the tattoo booth, the symbol on the girls' necks means "friendship."

In Chinese?

"As far as I know," said Kisha, smiling.

For her sake, let's hope that Norwall majored in Chinese.

Hall of Famers

togburn — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:30:50 -0400

Two people were inducted into the N.C. State Fair Livestock
Hall of Fame on Sunday afternoon.

The two, honored for their support of State
Fair livestock shows, are Sheila Jordan of Laurel Springs and
Perry Teeter of Glade Valley.

Attend the fair, hear a story

togburn — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:26:24 -0400

Do you and the kids need a little break while attending the fair? Why not take a load off and listen to a story?

This year, for the first time, storytellers are being offered at the fair. They are in the Folk Festival tent most evenings, sponsored by the state Department of Cultural Resources.

Tonight, Braima Moiwai, the Two Bells and Ella Stewart will be telling stories from 7 until 8.

The schedule for the rest of the fair:

Monday -– Ray Mendenhall, 6 to 7 p.m.

Tuesday -– Priscilla Best, Charles “Wsir” Johnson, 6 to 7 p.m.

Wednesday -– Willa Brigham (host of television’s "Smart Start Kids"), 6 to 7 p.m.

Thursday -- No storyteller

Friday -- Bill Friedman, 7 to 8 p.m.

Saturday -- No storyteller

Sunday, Oct. 26 – Willa Brigham, Beverly Burnette and Baba Jamal Koram, 7 to 8 p.m.

Fair attendance picks up

togburn — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:14:06 -0400

Following a rainy Friday that kept numbers low, State Fair attendance rebounded Saturday, with 87,457 people passing though the fair's gates.

The same day last year was a little busier, with 102,325 attending.

Today's sunny skies will likely result in a jump in attendance over Saturday.

4 cans = a day at the fair

RichardStradling — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 10:03:02 -0400

You can help someone in need when you come to the fair Thursday by paying for your ticket with cans of food instead of cash.

For every four cans of food you bring, you’ll receive one admission ticket, worth up to $7, during Food Lion Hunger Relief Day.

The cans go to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, which provides food to local soup kitchens and food pantries in a 34-county area.

Last year, the food bank collected 174,000 pounds of food from fairgoers, the equivalent of 147,000 meals. That makes it one of the largest one-day canned food drives in the state.

Bring your canned goods to any entrance gate on Thursday, and food bank volunteers and staff will be there to exchange it for a ticket and the warm feeling that comes from doing good.

Mac tonight at the fair

togburn — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:08:10 -0400

Got tickets to tonight's Toby Mac concert at the fair? Consider yourself lucky.

The contemporary Christian recording artist's Dorton Arena show is officially a sellout. All the $10 tickets are gone.

A Virginia native, Toby Mac originally was a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk.

The show, for you lucky ones, starts at 7:30 p.m.

Great grapes

togburn — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:41:24 -0400

Forget Napa, Bordeaux and other famed wine-growing regions. We've got some winning wines right here in the Tar Heel State.

The State Fair's Ninth Annual Wine Competition had 307 competitors submitted by 41 North Carolina wineries.

Childress Vineyards took home the N.C. Winegrowers Cup and Best of Show honors with its 2006 Cabernet Franc. Childress also led the medal count with 33 awards. Old Stone Winery’s Sweet Muscadine took the N.C. Muscadine Cup for best Muscadine wine.

Three panels of professional judges evaluated wines and awarded 24 double gold, 29 gold, 97 silver and 94 bronze medals. Double gold medals are awarded for unanimous decisions from the judges.

Other top honors were:

Best Red Vinifera: Childress Winery, Barrel Select Cabernet Franc 2006
Best White Vinifera: Shelton Vineyards, Yadkin Valley Riesling 2007
Best Fruit Wine: Buck Shoals Vineyard, Apple Mead
Best Sparkling Wine: Biltmore Winery, Ch. Reserve Blanc de Blanc NC 2006
Best White Native American: Old Stone Vineyards, Sweet Muscadine
Best Red Native American: Cypress Bend Vineyards, Autumn

For a complete list of winners, please visit www.nccommerce.com/wine.

Rainy days and fair days

togburn — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:26:59 -0400

As expected, Friday night's downpours appear to have kept many a fairgoer away. Attendance Friday was 42,666 -- down from 57,798 on the same day at last year's fair.

But add in Thursday's half-day attendance of 35,215, and that's nearly 78,000 people who went to this year's fair in its first two days -- rainy or not.

So at this point, attendance is ahead of last year. (Just forget that there was no Thursday attendance then!)

Fried dough: Cadillac of the midway

RichardStradling — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:56:53 -0400

Who brought fried dough to the N.C. State Fair? Bobbi Tellone says it was her.

Tellone and her family made a living on the fair circuit for three decades, but now limit their trips up from Fort Myers, Fla., to only one stop – the N.C. State Fair, where they've run a fried dough booth in the same location for 37 years.

"I introduced it to Raleigh," said Tellone, 62, whose counter features a display of her trademark deep-fried dough, slathered with the diner's choice of apple, hot fudge, Bavarian cream or cherry topping.

"People didn't know what it was – I free-sampled them to death."

Tellone said the delicacy stemmed from a grandmother's practice of making sweet things out of leftover dough on Saturday mornings. Fried dough, she said emphatically, should not be confused with funnel cakes, which use a wetter dough and absorb more cooking fat.

"Fried dough is like a Cadillac," she said. "Funnel cake is like a Chevrolet."

Beyond the midway

RichardStradling — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:15:13 -0400

If you spend all your time on the midway, riding the Avalanche and eating fried dough, it's possible to forget that this is an agricultural fair.

But most people manage to find their way to the various farm-related displays, booths and competitions that are the heart of the fair. Clyde Riggs, who was manning a display of antique farm machinery on Friday, says fairgoers are enlightened about the old days.

"It's really interesting to people who have never been on a farm, or know how hard they worked — they see where food comes from," said Riggs, 79, who grew up on a farm in Bahama. "I rode all that stuff when I was a kid."

Sometimes 100 people at a time roam the room looking at a welter of equipment including a 1930s-era Oliver Superior Grain Drill restored by Mark Williams and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

"It would be ready to go to the field right now," Troxler said Friday.

Rain, Rain

RichardStradling — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 07:53:36 -0400

Friday was the kind of evening fair people just loathe: Wet, soggy, damp, miserable. It was so bad, the nightly fireworks show was cancelled and the fairgrounds closed at 10 p.m., two hours early.

Today won't be a beach day, but it will be much better by comparison. Whatever rain lingers this morning should be short-lived, leaving only cloudy skies to contend with.

And after today, forecasters show nothing but sunshine on their charts through Friday, though you'll want to bring a jacket or sweatshirt. Daytime high temperatures will remain in the 60s most days. Now that's good fall fair weather.

Toxic Shock

RichardStradling — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:38:39 -0400

courtesy N.C. State Fair

The state fair's newest roller coaster was christened "Toxic Shock," a name chosen from among 187 entries in a contest to name the ride.

Susan Ogden of Raleigh came up with the winning moniker for the Pinfarri RC-48, one of the largest portable roller coaster in the United States. For naming the coaster, Ogden will receive a prize pack that includes five admission tickets, t-shirts and ride books.

The fair's midway operator, Powers Great American Midway, chose the winner. The coaster will display its new name, Toxic Shock, and Ogden's name throughout the run of the fair.

Headgear du jour

RichardStradling — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:12:26 -0400

Tiaras were much in evidence at the fair's official opening ceremony this morning. Miss North Carolina, Raleigh's own Amanda Watson, was on hand along with Miss North Carolina Pre-Teen, Maya Bryant, of Durham.

Completing the trio of pageant winners was Terri Lyda, of Hendersonville, the 2008 Global US Woman. Additionally, Lyda holds the international title Global American Woman, also a competition sponsored by Myrtle Beach-based Global Pageant US.

Not wearing a tiara was Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, who said the day's gloomy weather and the tough economy shouldn't stop people from celebrating the $70 billion contribution that agriculture makes to North Carolina every year.

"We have more and more citizens that don't know anything about agriculture," Troxler said before presiding over a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Help us have a seat

togburn — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:57:06 -0400

One of the great guilty pleasures of the State Fair is eating an artery-clogging funnel cake or fried candy bar. But there are far too few places to sit while you eat.

The assembly-line restaurants have seats, but naturally they're reserved for patrons. Benches in the main food-service areas would help. You could never install enough of them to seat every eater — and if you tried, you'd block too much pedestrian flow. But a few here and there couldn't hurt.

There's room, too, for bleachers in front of the Expo Center.

Failing that, nature offers help in some spots. It's not awful, after all, to sit on the roots of a sturdy oak as you polish off a funnel cake coated in powdered sugar, cinnamon, or chocolate.

The trees don't mind. The ants don't, either.

Like grandma used to make

RichardStradling — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:45:45 -0400

The biscuit wars are on in earnest.

The amplified voice at the Apex Lions Club booth proclaims their biscuits to be "like the ones Grandma made before she found out about that can."

With so many offerings, diners can shop for bargains. While other stands charged between $2 and $2.50, Westover United Methodist Church offers country ham biscuits for $1.50.

"From North Carolina's finest pigs!" proclaimed the Rev. Johnnie Wright, Westover's pastor, who's out front with a spiel designed to lure patrons inside. "We serve you with a smile."

Record attendance*

RichardStradling — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:30:10 -0400

The new Thursday preview proved a big success, according to Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, who was front and center at the Jim Graham Building this morning.

No attendance numbers were available yet, but Troxler had an answer ready anyway.

"I can tell you this: we set an all-time attendance record for opening on Thursday," he said, "because it's the first time we ever had it."

Gates open at 8 a.m. from now on. Those who hit the grounds as soon as they opened are getting breakfast without standing in lines and hitting popular exhibits before the crush of the big crowds.

Yes, the fireworks were early tonight

RichardStradling — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:39:44 -0400

No, your watch hasn't stopped. The State Fair fireworks went off about 45 minutes early tonight, on the opening half-day of the fair.

That was so the flash and booms wouldn't interfere with the N.C. State-Florida State football game at Carter-Finley Stadium across the street from the fairgrounds. As planned, the nightly fireworks show started shortly after the beginning of halftime, so as not to distract from the football game.

The display was wrapped up by about 9:25 p.m. That's 20 minutes before the fireworks will begin each night during the remaining 10 days of the fair.

Horses of a different breed

togburn — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:27:37 -0400

The horse show — one of the State Fair's most popular events — will have two new breeds this year. They are Connemara ponies and Welsh ponies.

The Connemara breed is originally from Ireland. These are docile, athletic animals. Welsh ponies are from — you guessed it — Wales.

The State Fair's horse show is one of the largest all-breed horse shows in the nation. It draws riders and horses from across the country.

On the hunt for bargains

RichardStradling — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:52:11 -0400

The State Fair is full of bargains if you keep your eyes peeled. Over the next 10 days, we’ll highlight some of them in The News & Observer.

Here are just a couple that our reporters have found so far:

For a quarter, you can buy a honey stick at Bobbee’s Honey in the Kerr Scott Building. Bobbee’s has all sorts of flavors, including lemon, cherry, sour strawberry and clover.

Nearby, try the muscadine grape cider slushy from Lu Mil Vineyard of Duplin County. A cup of this non-alcoholic concoction costs $1.00.

If they're fryin', we're buyin'

togburn — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:52:33 -0400

It's one of the big questions fairgoers always have — what are vendors going to be deep frying this year?

Previous delicacies have ranged from Snickers bars and Oreos (pretty tasty!) to banana pudding (eh, not so much).

This year offers two new fried treats — pecan pie, and macaroni and cheese.

Our early verdict? Try the pie. It's sweet, to be sure. But the doughy breading mixes nicely with the nutty consistency of the pie. Drizzle a little powered sugar on top for extra flavor.

As for the mac and cheese? We found it way too heavy. It's equivalent to several very thick cheese sticks, served on a stick. It's really cheesy and really greasy. Not awful, but by no means a favorite.

The pie is also served on a stick, but vendors also give you a little bowl and fork. If you're like us, you'll quickly be ditching the stick and just using the fork.

One last warning — be sure and grab an extra napkin or two.

Meet me at the waterfall

RichardStradling — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:24:33 -0400

The drought is over, and that means the big waterfall in front of Dorton Arena is back.

The cooling mist and thundering sound of the waterfall has been missing for more than a year, as the N.C. State Fairgrounds turned it off to conserve water during the drought that began last summer.

The fairgrounds staff says the waterfall does recycle the estimated 60,000 gallons it pumps over the wall at 18,000 gallons a minute, but the fine mist it puts off evaporates 2,000 to 3,000 gallons a day. When the water level in the pool below dips to about 16 inches, a valve opens and pumps in more water.

Name that roller coaster

RichardStradling — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:12:03 -0400

If you head out to the fair for today’s opening half day, you’ll have a chance to pick a new name for the largest roller coaster on the midway.

The Pinfarri RC-48 is one of the largest portable roller coasters in the world, but apparently Pinfarri RC-48 doesn’t carry the same cache as “Vortex” or “Avalanche.”

So from the time the gates open at 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., Powers Great American Midways will accept your ideas for naming their baby. The company will announce the new name on Friday, and the winner will get a prize pack that includes five admission tickets, T-shirts and ride books, plus that feeling the comes with picking the best coaster name.

So take a look at the Pinfarri RC-48 and perhaps take a spin, then submit your name for the coaster at the guest relations booth, near the Commercial and Education Building in Kiddieland.