Got To Be NC!

It's a good thing I don't earn my paycheck as a news reporter, because this blog entry is a week overdue. 

However tardy the material, I wanted to share some photos from the Got To Be NC Agriculture Festival at the North Carolina Fairgrounds.  We spent last Sunday afternoon at the fairgrounds, enjoying the last day of the 3-day festival.  Admission to the annual event is free, although entering the Food and Wine Expo area did cost $2 each (but that's where the tasty free samples were located!).  

This festival celebrates local produce and goods from farms here in the state of North Carolina.  This area has an incredible variety of small businesses and farms than a few types of foods, wines, and other products.  The agriculture-based industries were well, although not thoroughly, represented -- for example, I didn't see a number of CSA organizations there that I know serve our area, including the co-op that has my membership.  (In all honesty, most of them were probably incredibly busy serving their customers at this time of year!)  

In any case, I guarantee that each person visiting this festival learned something new about the agricultural business in this state.

First, we stopped by the commercial exhibitor's hall.  Here we saw NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine's state-of-the-art mobile treatment center: 

We also viewed exhibits showcasing obsolete, but historically relevant, agricultural tools.  I commented to my husband that some of the pieces in this extensive exhibit could likely be found on one or both of our families' property -- and are probably considered "junk" -- but here they are on display, giving us a comprehensive window into the past:

  
One impressively large area of the hall represented wool and yarn producers.  It was, quite frankly, a crafter's dream.  Sheep, llama, and alpaca farms were selling any sort of hair-related product you could think of, from bags of unprocessed, freshly shorn fleece to brightly dyed wools.  (Forgive the blurry picture; I was trying to capture one particularly colorful wall while staying out of a determined crafter's way...)

Outside, we happened across the tractor parade.   I made sure to snap a picture or two of the Farmalls, for my dad:

This little guy was the youngest driver in the parade (he was under 10 years old) and one of the cutest things I saw all day.  He was doing a great job! 

Speaking of cute-but-capable, I was especially glad to be at the festival on Sunday, because we got to watch the sheep-herding demonstrations.  I could watch these dogs all day long; their dedication is admirable, and they are amazing at what they do. The demonstration included three different dogs, all at different training levels.  The most experienced dog kept the sheep moving steadily and seemingly required very little input from her trainer.  The youngest dog, the mostly-white dog pictured below, was a little more enthusiastic but not quite as steady -- he couldn't resist jumping in now and then to give the sheep a little "nip" of encouragement!  

The last area we visited was the Food and Wine Expo.  There, we sampled different barbecue sauces, cheeses, maple butter, blueberries (and multiple blueberry products, such as blueberry bread and blueberry juice) and, of course, wine.  The wine-tasting area was quite crowded and was obviously the most popular part of the show!  These lovely young ladies plied us with samples of wine from Stephens Winery (http://www.stephensvineyardandwinery.com); their fruit wines especially were quite delicious!  

We didn't leave the festival empty-handed; I picked up some blueberries, a bottle of peach wine, and a jar of maple butter, and my husband tasted a barbecue sauce he found he couldn't leave without. 

We definitely plan to visit next year!  The businesses represented at the festival deserve recognition for their contributions to our state's economy and for the home-grown choices they provide us.