Got to Be NC Festival includes fireworks, live music, draft horse pulls, a petting zoo, pig races, and antique tractor displays with more than 1,000 pieces of farm equipment.

May 11, 2008

WAKE COUNTY NC NEWS -- The premier "Got to Be NC" Festival is scheduled for June 5, 2008 through June 8, 2008! More than seventy-five North Carolina food service companies will showcase their products in the State Fairgrounds in the Exposition Building. The Got to be NC Agriculture Food Expo will be open on Friday from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., and then from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Among the festivities taking place in the Exposition Building, include daily live cooking demonstrations by local chefs and food enthusiasts, and booths with local artisans and other organizations promoting their products and services. Meanwhile, food vendors will be scattered across the fairgrounds for sampling and purchase of a variety of foods, from North Carolina barbecue to gourmet candy apples.

Other festivities at the Got to Be NC Festival includes fireworks, live music, draft horse pulls, a petting zoo, pig races, and antique tractor displays with more than 1,000 pieces of farm equipment. Another five star event, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, is the Official state barbecue cooking championship sponsored by the N.C. Pork Council. That means hopefully our friend, Mr. H. Page Skelton, Sr., will be cooking-up some delicious morsels smothered with his famous Cackalcky Spice sauce.

On Friday night in the Grandstand, draft horses will compete in a horse pull testing these equine specimens against the weight of a loaded sled. Additionally, the Got to Be NC Festival will have live music! A mixture of beach, country and bluegrass music will be performed by various players. With the Got to Be NC Festival hosting a bluegrass band competition in Heritage Circle!

Admission to the Got to Be NC Festival is free except for carnival rides and games, tractor pulls, and grandstand concerts. Gates open Thursday and Friday, 3:00 p.m. to midnight while on Saturday and Sunday, the festival will open from 10:00 a.m. to midnight. The State Fairground are easily located from I-40 at 1025 Blueridge road in Raleigh, NC.

Goodness Grows Director Jeff Jennings said, "There has been a lot of enthusiasm from our members and we are looking forward to a great show."

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announcing the Festival said, "The Food Expo will give festival attendees the chance to see, taste and buy many of the great products that we produce right here in North Carolina. This is a great opportunity for residents to become familiar with the great variety of North Carolina products so that they know what to look for the next time they go shopping."

Finally, all Companies participating in the Food Expo are members of the Goodness Grows in North Carolina Program, the official marketing program of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For more information contact: www.ncagfest.com