How to enjoy the N.C. State Fair without spending big
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An antique cash register and an Arcy painting at the North Carolina State Fair. Photo: Mary Helen Moore/Axios
The N.C. State Fair is entering its second week in Raleigh, with free admission Thursday for anyone who brings six cans of food.
Why it matters: North Carolina's biggest annual event has plenty to offer beyond rides and food, especially if you're hoping to save money.
Driving the news: It's the 75th anniversary of the Village of Yesteryear, where artisans from across the state converge to sell handmade wares and demonstrate their crafts.
- See jewelry made, leather worked, fiddles shaped, eggs painted, wood turned, landscapes painted and baskets and rugs woven.
- Makers will generally entertain endless questions, including if you know so-and-so in their town and what they're getting into these days.
- Plenty of small trinkets and Christmas ornaments cost less than $20.
Flashback: The 1951 fair was the Village of Yesteryear's debut.
- 13 crafters — all from the mountains and mostly women — displayed pottery, paintings, knotted colonial bedspreads, pewter crosses, corn-shuck seats, wooden bowls and more.
- Now, it's more than 100.
Also free: The Agri Supply Expo Center houses cows, pigs, goats, turkeys and honeybees, as well as rows upon rows of horticultural delights.
- There are giant pumpkins, 100-pound watermelons, the prettiest peppers ever picked and a world-record squash grown in Raleigh from a free library seed.
- Listen for music from an elaborate self-playing organ on the way inside and go back in time with a stop by the nearby Antique Farm Machinery exhibit.
The bottom line: Sure, you can splurge on close parking, extravagant foods and tickets to one of the 94 rides, but doing the fair on a budget is still possible.