How do you do just about everything at the NC State Fair in one day? Here’s the plan

The NC State Fair is packed to the brim with stuff to do. Between trying the new fair foods, spending time with the animals, oohing and aahing over crafts at the Village of Yesterday and soaking in all the free entertainment, it seems impossible to experience the whole fair in one day.

Or is it?

The News & Observer spoke with Heather Overton, assistant director of the State Fair press office (and a lifelong fairgoer with perfect attendance for many years, she said) to learn how to pack the whole fair into a single trip.

Follow her roadmap — while picking and choosing the parts of the fair that sound like the most fun — to pack in the whole fair experience in a single day.

How to see and do everything at the NC State Fair

Remember to wear your walking shoes! You’ll catalog a lot of steps in your full day exploring the fairgrounds.

• Start out with the best parking spot. To do that, you’ll have to come early.

Two offsite lots offer free parking with a free shuttle to get you to the fairgrounds. They open 9 a.m. every day (or 11 a.m. for the first Thursday). The shuttles will drop you off either at Gate 7 or Gate 9.

• Enter through Gate 8. If you took the shuttle from the free lot, it’ll require a bit of walking to get you here.

But you’ll wind up at the Grist Mill, where you can snag a free hushpuppy and hop on the FairFlyer, which is like a ski lift and can get you from one end of the fairgrounds to the other in a leisurely seven minutes.

• Take the FairFlyer one way and save the other half of your round-trip ticket to get back to Gate 8 at the end of the day.

“This gives you a birds-eye view of the fairgrounds and is a great way to spend seven minutes planning your day,” Overton said.

• Grab breakfast. The FairFlyer will drop you off near the church groups’ lunch stands near the grandstand, and there are dozens of local food vendors nearby.

Howling Cow is here too, and “it’s the fair, so ice cream counts as a meal,” Overton said.

• Redeem your ride tickets if you bought them online (which you should do to take advantage of the discount, Overton said).

But if you don’t have any, you can buy them now for $1 each. (Most rides take five or six tickets, she said.) Look for the neon green tents with stars on them. Those are the Ride Redemption Plazas. The closest one will be outside Dorton Arena.

This year, instead of ticket sheets, the fair will offer ride ticket cards that can be reloaded and carried over year-to-year. You can also get unlimited ride wristbands.

• Peruse the art competitions and try to spot familiar names in the Kerr Scott Building. (This is a leisurely activity while your breakfast is settling and you gear up for the Midway’s thrill rides, if that’s your thing.)

Some of your local schools may have submitted student art.

• See the cakes and quilts in the Commercial and Education Buildings.

But there’s much more to check out, like the LEGO competitions and 4-H displays.

• Get ready to ride! If you have young children, Kiddieland is nearby. Or you can make your way to the Midway.

Here, you can check out the fair’s new rides this year, or hop on a familiar favorite.

“This is how I would spend one day at the fair with my kids.Alone, I might not spend much time on the Midway, but I did when I was younger,” Overton said.

• Take a lunch break. Luckily, many vendors are located near Kiddieland and the Midway.

Check out the online food map, and keep an eye out for one of the 30+ new vendors selling their creations at the fair this year.

• Stroll through Cotton Park, a revamped installment in 2023 with additional lighting, seats and several new food vendors, Overton said.

• Sample NC products at Dorton Arena, where the Got To Be NC Exhibit is held.

• Hear local music at the Live & Local Music Stage, which is outside the arena and near the waterfall.

Or, you can go to the Field of Dreams and check out the miniature farm.

• Grab a drink at the NC Public House. While you’re there, you can check out the brand new bar adorned with pennies.

Note: This is the only place you can get alcohol at the fair. You have to buy drink tickets, which are $10 each at the fair and include two servings of wine, beer or cider. If bought online in advance, you can get a drink ticket and an admissions ticket for $17 (which would be $23 if both were bought in-person.

If that doesn’t interest you, head to the NC Pottery Tent located nearby and browse.

• SkyGazer time! Check out the city from above.

“See the skylines that stretch to downtown Raleigh,” Overton said.

• Milk a cow at the Agri Supply Expo Center and check out the animals in the State Fair Ark.

While you’re here, see the bee and honey exhibit.

• Take gourd photos and look teeny tiny next to the giant beasts.

This is one of the most photographed parts of the fair, so you may have to wait patiently for an empty spot.

“Standing next to a giant pumpkin is slenderizing,” Overton said.

• Ride the Fair Flyer back to your entry point — but the day’s not over yet.

(Before hopping back on the Flyer, you can also hit up the Midway again for a few more rides.)

• Listen to bluegrass at the Heritage Circle Stage while sipping hot (or cold) cider. You can also check out the tobacco farm and the blacksmith shop.

• Walk through the Flower Show to see the winning flowers, and follow the trail to see the scarecrows and take a photo in the giant chair.

Make sure you spend extra time at the mum tree, which is “proudly assembled each year,” Overton said.

• Go back in time in the Village of Yesteryear, which is a short walk away.

“This is a great place to pick up a one-of-a-kind souvenir from your fair day,” Overton said.

There’s pottery, woodworking, handmade jewelry and much more to see.

• Visit Conservation Forest to talk to Smoky Bear (who will talk back to you) and go inside the Bob Stanfield Natural Resources Center.

“The interior walls of this building are made of 29 different types of wood from native North Carolina trees. Wood from Eastern Carolina trees line the east wall, while Western Carolina trees are on the west wall and Piedmont trees line the north and south ends in between,” Overton said.

• Grab a snack or a sweet treat. Roasted corn or french fries are popular choices.

“Justify another sweet or fried (or both!) fair food,” she said.

• See the Ember Fire Arts Show if your fair day started a little later and it’s approaching 9 p.m. The show is at Heritage Circle.

• Finish your day with fireworks. They’re also over Heritage Circle, so stay just where you are.

Head back out through Gate 8 where you came in, or you can walk to Gate 7 or Gate 9 to catch the free shuttle to your parking lot.

10 popular things to do at the NC State Fair

If you don’t have the stamina to tackle the whole fair in one day, here’s Overton’s highlight reel.

Work your way through these 10 longtime fair favorites for a condensed trip or to enjoy the fair at a slower pace:

1. Pumpkins: Visit the giant pumpkins and watermelons and take a picture with the winning entries. (Free with admission.)

2. Music: Listen to a local band on the Heritage Circle Bluegrass Stage or the Live and Local Stage at the Waterfall. (Free with admission.)

3. Cider: Order hot or cold cider at the cider mill in Heritage Circle.

4. Art: Browse and shop with the artists in the Village of Yesteryear.

5. Animals: Visit the animals in the State Fair Ark located in the Expo building. (Free with admission.)

6. Free samples: Peruse and sample North Carolina products in the Got to Be NC Pavilion in Dorton Arena. (Free with admission.)

7. Cake and quilts: Check out the blue-ribbon winners in the cake decorating competition or quilts in the Education building. (Free with admission.)

8. Corn: Eat roasted corn on the cob.

9. Food: Try one of the new foods.

Last year, the talked-about deep fried delicacy was a rattlesnake corn dog, and one of our reporters tried it.

10. From above: Ride the State Fair Flyer at night to see the lights of the Midway from above.

This is the 2023 edition of our insider guide to packing in the whole fair in a single visit. You can also read the 2022 edition, which follows a slightly different route for a jam-packed day on the fairgrounds.