I'll never forget my first NC State Fair. My boyfriend was so excited to introduce the fair to my 12 year old daughter and me. Unfortunately we started with some rides that made me REALLY queasy. Walking seemed to help. As we walked, we noticed a lot of people wearing political stickers. I was clinging to my boyfriend's arm, he leaned over and very tenderly and sincerely said "Sweetie, if you really feel like you are going to be sick, the thing to remember is........aim for one of those Romney/Ryan stickers."

Wow.. I can remember being a kid and going the shows at the Dorton Arena at night with my family after a day at the fair ( they were free then ) . I saw many performers such as THE OAK RIDGE BOYS, THE STATLER BROTHERS, FREDDY FENDER, JIM STAFFORD just to mention a few. How many of you reading this possilby were there also ? I was so amazed by the Dorton Arena it wasn't very old at the time and biggest arena in the area and the cool shape was awesome !

I loved the helicopter rides at the North Carolina State Fair and I knew the fair was coming to town when a helicopter landed on the lawn of the Ranch Motel on the Raleigh-Durham Highway. In the fifties and early sixties my parents managed the motel and the fair’s helicopter pilot stayed at the motel while working at the fair. I had my first wonderful candy apple at the fair. My mother’s fair favorites were the quilt and flower arrangement exhibits. Also, she loved winning a prize for me at the "Guess Your Weight" booth. My mother was less than five feet tall and she weighed less than 100 pounds, but her purse weighed almost as much as she did so since the guess was incorrect due to her purse, I always received a prize. She wasn’t cheating, it was simply that her purse was just as much a part of her as if she had a third hand that held everything from car keys to hairspray. We moved to Georgia when I was nine years old and now I live across the street from a cattle farm. Every time the wind blows the smell of cow manure through the air, I fondly remember the NC State Fair and the livestock shows that I loved as a child. I had my first Ferris wheel ride at the fair and to this day, I believe that Ferris wheel was more fun than any ride at Six Flags Over Georgia. I wanted to share my “firsts” at the state fair with my native Atlantan husband so we attended the fair in 2010. He loved the fair just as I did when I was a child so I am certain we will be there for the food and fun in 2012.

I guess I was one of the lucky ones when I was a kid. My Grandfather, George McConnell, always took his ponies ponies to the NC State Fair and I always got to ride for free. As he got older, and I got older, I went from riding the ponies to actually working the ponies with my Granfather at the Fair. I would load the children on the ponies, strap them in if needed, and walk beside the ones most likely to slip and slide in the saddle. I still remember the smiles of happiness that the pony rides brought to the faces of those children. My kids named my Grandfather Grand Daddy Pony. As he moved up in age me and my family ended up setting up the ride, erecting the fence, ticket booth and a place for Grand Daddy Pony to sit and watch, always in his Stetson hat and polished cowboy boots with a spiffy bolo around his neck. We would close everything up around 10 each night and put the ponies away for the evening. At least once every other year or so we would get the call that helicopters had scarred the ponies and they broke out of their stalls and were wandering the fairgrounds getting to see the wonderful sights for themselves! We would gather up the ponies and always come up one short. After several more hours of searching we would usually find that last one with his head in trash can and a half eaten candied aplle hanging from his mouth. I think the ponies enjoyed the North Carolina State Fair as much as we did. The Fair gave us a chance to share time with Grand Daddy Pony and to enjoy all the great events that the Fair offers every year. My work has taken us all over the United States and we have been to a number of State Fairs and not can hold a candle to the North Carolina State Fair. Thank you North Carolina and thank you George McConnell.