Got to Be NC Festival

Curtis Mabe’s big tractor wins Best of Show award at festival

Flying Bob May 22 May 22

Congratulations to Curtis Mabe of Parkton, whose 1964 Allis-Chalmers D21 won Best of Show in the tractor competition at the Got to Be NC Festival. The team of judges liked Mabe’s use of chrome and the many little details he used in restoring the tractor, says Pat Short, the festival’s motor sports coordinator. “It’s a very rare tractor,” Short says. “It’s also huge.” The following tractors and owners also won awards in the competition: Best of Show, Prior to 1930 — Ken and Patti Eder of Carthage, 1914 Sawyer Massey Best of Show, 1930-49 — Jim Karriker of Mooresville, 1949…

Too much pork for just one fork…

Bearded Lady May 22 August 5

The ever-popular Masonic Carolina Pig Jig was back again at the Got to Be NC Festival, and this year’s competition was even larger than last year. An estimated 3,000 people came to fill their plates with barbecue pork, chicken and sauces. In addition, some lodges were serving chicken wings, banana pudding, sides and sweet lemonade. The event is an annual fund-raiser to benefit the Masonic Home for Children and the Central Children’s Home, both in Oxford. Here’s a quick look at the event: Not only is the event a fund-raiser, but it also is a competition and opportunity for bragging rights. Here’s a rundown…

Tractors in triple speed

Bearded Lady May 21 May 22

If you’ re at the fairgrounds around 11 a.m. Saturday or Sunday, make sure you don’t miss the antique tractor parade. We don’t want to spoil the full experience for you, so we present this condensed video. Note: If the video doesn’t appear, try refreshing your browser. UPDATE: Saturday’s tractor parade will start at 10:45 a.m. to accomodate the Harley-Davidson ride-in.

Check in on TriOut for a badge

Firecracker May 21 May 21

Smart-phone users, be sure to check in on TriOut when you get to the Got to Be NC Festival at the N.C. State Fairgrounds this weekend. Checking in will earn TriOut users a festival badge and 10 points toward the weekly leaderboard competition. TriOut is a hyper-local location-based service that helps users explore the Triangle and greater North Carolina. The application was founded by Triangle residents Lawrence Ingraham and Wayne Sutton. In beta testing last year, 17 users checked in at the 2009 N.C. State Fair. Let’s see how many users we can get to the Got to Be NC…

Carolina Fiberfest offers visitors plenty of warm and fuzzies; doubles in size

Merrie Go Round May 19 May 19

Anyone with an interest in fiber crafts will want to visit the expanded Carolina Fiberfest taking place May 21-23 in the Holshouser Building as part of the Got to Be NC Festival. Interest in fiber crafts has been gaining momentum for the past seven years, with more and more people learning to knit, crochet, weave, spin or construct other fiber craft items. The Fiberfest will feature 18 vendors with a variety of products from naturally dyed wools to unfinished fibers. The focus will be on showcasing North Carolina fiber products that people might not see in more traditional stores. The event will be a nice blend of…

I spy….a double Ferris wheel!

Firecracker May 19 May 19

We get tons of questions every year before the State Fair from people wanting to know if their favorite food or attraction will be returning. Inevitably, each year, we get asked, “Will the double Ferris wheel be back this year?” The past few years, the answer has been “no.” Powers Great American Midways, the carnival company at the State Fair, does not own a double Ferris wheel, and while there have been four Ferris wheels on the grounds, none has been a double wheel. If you want your fix of a double Ferris wheel, be sure to bring yourself on…

Got to Be NC Festival headlines a jam-packed weekend at the Fairgrounds

Firecracker May 18 May 19

Fairgrounds visitors will have plenty of activities to choose from as the third-annual Got to Be NC Festival kicks off a full weeekend of events. The festival runs Friday, May 21, to Sunday, May 23, and will include hundreds of food and commercial vendors, agricultural exhibits, carnival rides and much more. Following is the jam-packed schedule of activities at the Got to Be NC Festival: Amran Shriners N.C. Seafood Fish Fry, Friday, beside the Expo Center The Shriners will serve N.C. mountain trout, catfish and shrimp from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Cost is $10 per plate. The event is…

Blue ribbon winners from 2009 photography competition part of state-wide tour

Blue Ribbon March 3 August 5

When Candace Green’s son Walton had enough fun with the family for one day, he decided going home should mean getting to drive. The image to the left shows Walton saying one of his first words, “TRUUUCK!” Green’s photograph, Walton Green Likes Trucks is one of eight blue ribbon winners from the 2009 N.C. State Fair photography competition that will be part of a year-long tour across the state. The “Celebrate North Carolina: Faces and Places“ Photography Exhibit is an initiative of the Office of First Gentleman Bob Eaves in cooperation with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The exhibit of 30 images from…

Sights, Sounds and Smells: Ag Jam

Cotton Candy September 19 August 5

If you’re a country music/food junkie like me, there was no better place to be last Saturday than the Diet Pepsi Got to Be NC Ag Jam. We got to celebrate N.C. agriculture and growers to the tunes of Southern rockers Blackberry Smoke, Jamey Johnson, Heartland, Jake Owen, Eric Church, Tracy Byrd and (whew!) Blake Shelton. Check out the sights, sounds and smells from the top-notch event and keep your ear to the ground for info on next year’s Got to Be NC Ag Jam. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler kicking things off with media partners from Thunder Country, WQDR and…

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