1st Weekend Fares Well

For the Cook family, and many others, fun is the name of the game at the annual N.C. State Fair, where entertainment ranges from elephant ears to candy corn, exhibiting to clogging and eating to cheering.

The state fair opened its gates Friday at the fairgrounds in Raleigh and will run until Sunday.

Fairgoers can find the world's smallest pony near the world's longest snake and a 1,100-pound pig just a few feet away.

Michael Cox, who works in Florida with this famous pig, said he has never seen or heard of a bigger swine.

Chris Schiot, a 10-year-old from Garner, said he was amazed by the pig. "I have never seen anything as big," he said. "He's so fun. I wish I had a pet like him."

Pig lovers also can head over to Hogway Speedway to see quartets of pigs -- Vietnamese, pot-bellies, black, pink -- running forward, backward, around and not at all.

These barnyard staples were joined by goats and ducks racing around the woodchip track.

Four-legged winners received cheese noodles.

Humans at the fair preferred a snack of the powdered sugar variety.

Funnel cakes -- $4, with an extra 50 cents getting the patron extra sugar -- are a state fair tradition for Durham resident Ashley Moore.

"I only eat them at carnivals and fairs," she said. "But I'd give them a nine out of 10. They're good, sweet and fatty."

Ostrich meat was available for the daring and health-conscious.

This delicacy, reared on one of North Carolina's 300 ostrich farms, is lower in calories and fat than most meats, said farmer C.W. Horsley from Oakridge Farm. He said ostrich meat tastes, looks and feels like beef.

"It's just like sausage," said Mike Larry of Greenville after taking a emu-sized bite out of his ostrich burger. "I was attracted by the huge plastic ostrich head above the stall. I have never tried ostrich before, but I will again -- not regularly though."

Food was the last thing on the mind of 7-year-old Megan Harvell of Gibson as she waited in the wings of the folk festival tent.

Dressed in a denim skirt with red sequins and lace trim and oversized red leather boots, Harvell said she has clogged for the past four years. This was the first time she performed at the state fair.

"I am really excited," she said.

Janet Hewitt and Madison Ballengee, both 8-year-old Cary residents, said they have attended the fair every year of their lives.

Both sported faces adorned with Carolina blue and clutched stuffed Huskies they won at the water shooter game as they rushed off to their favorite part of the fair -- the rides.

Jo Falloe, also from Cary, also said she has enjoyed the state fair every year of her life.

"When I was young we used to all get the same day off school to go to the fair," she said. "All the local children went together. I remember the excitement, going to the fair and riding things like the Tilt-a-Whirl and Himalaya. The rides were similar to what they are now."

For fun nearer the ground there was the Village of Yesteryear, exhibiting traditional handiwork, the hobbies and crafts tent with the Statue of Liberty modeled in Legos and the Old Farm Equipment Barn, displaying the 137-year old One Man Self-Rake Reaper.

For the Cook family more traditional fun is mixed with rides and games.

"It's always great fun," said Jason and Lindsey Cook after their first ride of the day. "Especially if the sun shines."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.