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I am a bit of a fair freak, according to my husband.
Here are my tips.
Food:
Get your roasted corn at the place in front of the rabbit house. It is next to the strawberry shortcake place, so look for the inflatable strawberry as a marker.
There are two great cotton candy places and neither are blue or pink. One is the honey cotton candy in the Kerr-scott building and one is the maple cotton candy. Both fresh and wonderful. You will never do the pink/blue stuff again.
Corn dogs are my annual fair favorite (like some feel towards turkey legs and some feel toward sausage and onion hoagies). But NEVER get them at a place that has them sitting out. Always look for a place that is making them fresh.
IMO, the best funnel cake is at the place (why can't I remember any names???) that is in that line of permanant church restaurants. They have a sit down restaurant and then a window just for funnel cakes. As is true with most great vendors, there is often a long line.
We always go to one of the church run "restaurants" along that line for a little respite from all that walking. We like Cary Methodist, I think, because they have good ham biscuits.
The best BBQ sandwich is at the Pork producers tent by Gate 1. Very very traditional NC BBQ. Good pork loin sandwiches too. We always get one before we get back on the shuttle bus, that leaves from that gate.
There is a little trailer that sells mini-donuts that are KILLER. My kids love to watch them come down the track, fall in the fryer and off the conveyor belt. It is a mini-version of the one at KKreme downtown. When they are hot they are to die for. My husband says I have a map of the fair in my head, but this trailer is known to move around, so I can't tell you exactly where it is....but look for it.
The BEST ice cream is at the NC State booth, on the right before you get to the rabbit house, past the entrance to the grandstand. Again, long line...worth it.
Getting there/when to go
Like others, we take the bus cause after a long day of walking I just can't tolertate listening to my kids whine about how long the walk is back to the car...I too am exhausted and am just not going to carry them. We live downtown and just park in a neighborhood along Hillsborough street and hop on the bus for a short ride to the fair. I a willing to pay a couple of extra bucks not to have to listen to 20 minutes of whining and feet dragging. In their defense, if you have done the fair right, they are exhausted.
Go on the fair website, posted above, and click on yearly attendance. You will see how crowded it is on given nights. We always go on Mondays or Tuesdays if we can. I HATE crowds. We never go at night, as the midway is so packed I get creeped out.
I also avoid weekends. If I have to go on weekends, I go VERY early in the morning...right when the gates open. Of course, that makes those mini-donuts a special treat.
What to do:
This all depends on what your family likes to do. For some people, the fair is all rides and food. That is fine. We like rides okay, but we particularly like the things that are special to the NC fair. Understand that my oldest is 9 and youngest is 5, so adjust your choices accordingly. But, heck, I still get a kick out of all these things myself.
Village of Yesteryear. A great place to see and buy NC crafts. There are also things for kids to do, such as watch a potter, hear a hammer dulcimer, make their own cloth dolls. If you want a sillouette of your kids "just like Mom did for you" here is the place to get it.
Heritage Village. We love this area, as it is often very uncrowded and quiet. There are log cutting contest, bluegrass bands, clogging. There is a place that presses apples for cider (hot or cold) and great kettle corn. If your kids have never seen a real blacksmith or seen actual tabacco leaves, this is the place.
The Grist Mill - On the path down from Heritage Village to Gate 8, there is an old Grist Mill. If you have never seen one, it is very neat to tour it and see that huge stone turning. As a bonus, you get to taste stone ground corn meal made hush puppies. You can buy some meal too, if ya wanna
To get away from the crazy crowds, take the path behind the apple cider hut and walk down by the lake. The people from the local exotic bird group have a booth there with birds they usually let the kids see and touch. Keep walking a little bit in the quiet by the lake and you will come up on the gardening competition, which we like.
My kids love seeing all the animals, so we always check out the Jim Graham building for the HUGE cows and also the Kelly building next door for sheep, bigs, goats, etc. It is also interesting to see the farm familys. If you have never done it, check the schedule and watch one of the kids animal competition. It is great to see, and for your kids to see, these kids bring out their prize animals.
Many of the fun animal "stuff" has now moved into the new building, the State Fair Ark. It is a quick place to see lots of animals, including the prize winners (along with what Harris Teeter paid the kids for them). This buidling also houses the biggest pumpkin, squash, watermelon, etc. The NC State ag students also have a cow milking booth here which is great to watch, if not participate in. They also sell pints of milk here. We always get some so that the kids will have SOME nuitrition in their stomachs.
The NC Ag's "Field of Dreams" continues to be a favorite of my kids, although I think they are growing out of it. It is free, you pick up a basket and the kids "pick" certain veggies, then "sell them at the market", then trade in their "cash" for a prize at the "store". The prize contains, usually, a toy or something and an apple...again a small source of real nutrition in a sugar filled day.
The poultry tent is another favorite of ours, as they have a place up front where, again the NCSU students put out baby ducks, geese and chickens for people to touch and hold. Yes, hand sanitizer is needed after this, but how can you not hold them????
In the education building, there are the bee displays, the 4H displays, the Bureau of Standards "true weight" which my kids really like, but I don't. This is also the place you can see the entrys in the cooking and sewing contest. The cake decorating is always fascinating.
The Folk Festival is a great place to grab something to eat before you get there (like honey c.candy from the Kerr-Scott) and sit and watch cloggers, singers, etc from all over the state.
If you have never seen them, don't miss the pig races.
Bathrooms
From my experience, the nicest, least crowded bathrooms are in the Jim Graham building.
Wonderful. Just what I was after. I will be printing your message and will try out some of your recommendations. Or maybe you could be offer a tour for newbies LOL
What about Fried Dough? That is my dh's favorite fair food, but we're not quite sure what it's called here in the South. Where is the best place to get it & what's it called?
We had some last year at the fair & I think they call it elephant ears? I don't know for sure.
Fried dough is YUMMY. Elephant ears is just another brand name for fried dough and it used to be bigger than fried dough but I don't see the difference any more. My favorite place for fried dough is found between the rabbit house and the Grand Stand( near the NC State Ice Cream Booth). Try it with a little chocolate sauce on it for an extra treat!
Don't forget the ribeye steak sandwiches sold at the NC Cattlemen's Association booth outside the Jim Graham building. It's located on the side facing Dorton Arena. It's an actual ribeye steak on a bun. SOOOO good
Don't forget to stop by the Hunt Horse Complex and watch some of the horse shows going on over there during the Fair too.
I second the Field of Dreams exhibit. We go every year and the people working it are so nice. They will answer all your questions about how the different crops are grown--peanuts, cotton, etc. Coming from the midwest where corn and soybeans are king, its interesting to learn about the southern crops.
We love the rides and never miss the Avalanche/Crazy Mouse and the swings.
We always stop by the mill to get free hushpuppies.
I love to look at the garden exhibits. There is a grandfather and granddaughter that enter every year and they have the most creative garden plots. The categories for the gardens are always really neat--they have practical ones like 'night garden' or 'salsa garden' as well as fanciful categories like "Dr. Seuss" and 'nursery rhymes'.
I also second the Jim Graham building bathroom recommendation as well.
The best part of the fair to me is that much of it is paved. Its not as dusty and dirty as the fairs I was used to back home. I also appreciate the places to sit and the shade umbrellas in the kids area, although we have outgrown those rides. The only bad thing about the fair is that there's no beer tent. We were used to beer tents with live bands but we're in the Bible belt now, lol. :-)
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Advance tickets
