State fairs all over the country draw millions of visitors each year. These events were mainly built around judging livestock, agriculture and food. Recipe judging is actually one of the oldest kind of competitions. It dates back to the early 1800s.

Recently ranked as one of America’s Greatest State Fairs, the North Carolina State Fair was first held in 1853.  It has had three different homes since then.  All have been in North Carolina’s capital city, Raleigh.

The fair’s exhibits are based around agriculture and education. The Village of Yesteryear and the Field of Dreams exhibits are some of the most popular exhibits, letting fairgoers learn about farming in the past as well as today’s process of growing and harvesting crops.

Many people come just for the food. The N.C. State Dairy stand for Howling Cow Ice Cream has been around for more than half a century and is one of the most visited food stands.  The ice cream is made on the N.C. State campus at the dairy lab, using traditional recipes with fresh milk and cream from its Raleigh farm. For the more adventurous, there’s the Krispy Kreme Burger which consists of a cheeseburger placed between 2 glazed donuts instead of the typical hamburger bun.

This year the NC State Fair goes on from October 11-21 and is expected to attract more than a million people from all over North Carolina. I’m definitely going for the Howling Ice Cream this year.  What about you?