Carnival & Fair News

A lack of rain in many parts of the Eastern United States may have caused concern over drought conditions, but this autumnal dry spell boosted attendance at many an October fair. The North Carolina State Fair is no exception, and in 2024 it continued to sustain its growth trajectory.

Attendance for the annual celebration of everything Tar-Heel reached 998,926, an increase of 7.8 percent over the 2023 attendance of 926,425. An indication of a growing fair is how well the weekdays are attended and this year, a Tuesday (10/22) set an all-time record at 85,738.

“We had a very good fair; it was a safe fair, the infrastructure was reliable and we had a good attendance number,” said Kent Yelverton, Fair Manager, North Carolina State Fair. “We experienced near perfect weather.  We had cool mornings and evenings, with warm afternoons.  The only precipitation was very light rain in the morning hours of our last day.”



Just as ideal was the attitude among fairgoers for the annual event, which dates back to 1853.  Yelverton said sales figures from vendors were unavailable. However anecdotal evidence and a strong local economy provided metrics that it was a successful edition of this southern tradition. “Discussions with vendors indicated spending was high,” he said. “We continue to feel fairgoers have positive attitudes.  They were smiling and planning their next stop as they stood in line for attractions or food.”

Powers Great American Midway

They also queued up on the five midways arranged by Powers Great American Midways, which featured a total of 92 rides with new startling additions to The State Fair – a 210-foot giant slide, and Candyland Adventure Funhouse, a 110 foot state-of-the art attraction billed as “a supersized experience.”



“The midway was up,” said Corky Powers of Powers Great American Midways, who stated if it was a not a record it was among the highest-revenue North Carolina events for the Powers brand. “We had perfect weather, we had a great year. Everyone was up, not just the rides but our food and games. People were spending, the games may have been a wee bit lower than the rides. Everybody was riding the rides.”

Powers expected to debut additional rides, but like nearly all midway providers this year, backorders are the rule, not the exception this year as supply disruptions haven't recovered from the COVID shutdowns and work stoppages. At the ports ships have been delayed and equipment ready to ship must wait weeks, even months for a carrier. Even before the equipment is ready for delivery, manufacturing delays have become the norm due to companies facing backorders for parts from other factories needed to complete the project.

At least three rides Powers wanted for the 2024 season that were expected in June were backlisted for a February 2025 delivery date  Rides ordered at the recent IAAPA tradeshow had shipment dates scheduled for three years from now or more. “We're at their mercy,” said Powers. “Shipping times have more than doubled. Labor costs are rising and so prices are higher. It's probably worse now than just after the lockdown, but we try to stay ahead of the game.”

Staying ahead of the game has meant maintaining a 25-person team at the company's workshop to sustain a constant flow of rebuilding, refurbishing and reconditioning of key rides in the Powers inventory. “We are very hands on with our machine shop. We've gotten very creative in keeping our equipment shiny and new.”

Maintaining five midways and nearly 100 rides was also something the company stayed ahead of in 2024. “We have supervisors at each midway and most of the workers keep to one ride,” said Powers. “Operationally it is actually very smooth.”

He credited the fair board for reinvesting in the 344-acre North Carolina State Fairgrounds facilities, which for 2024 included upgrades to restrooms and paving additional areas of the midway, per Powers' request. “It's a great fair, there's so much do it at the fair, they could spend a whole day there, besides going on rides. They also do a great job advertising the fair, reaching different areas of the market. We see new people every year.”

Raleigh Booming

The historic fairgrounds is located in the heart of Raleigh, which the Wall Street Journal declared one of the Hottest Job Markets in the U.S., and is considered one of the biggest American boomtowns this decade. Appealing to this demographic of young professionals and their families, Yelverton created a marketing campaign that underscored the farming ethos of the event – Home Grown Happiness.

“The tagline was developed by an informal committee and reflected our agricultural roots and agricultural mission,” he said. “In spite of the number of new residents in NC, tradition plays a major role in keeping our fair relevant.  We have 156 years of showcasing the best NC has to offer and that draws in newcomers and natives alike. Our place in contemporary society is to educate the public about agriculture and where food comes from by providing an event that draws them in and exposes them to agriculture.”

Marketing was more expensive this year, due to the election. Being a swing state, North Carolina was besieged by campaign advertising, driving up ad costs and forcing the fair to boost its advertising budget by of tens of thousands in order to compete. “The 2024 marketing budget was $464,735 in comparison to a 2023 budget of $405,000,” he explained. “Since North Carolina was such a contested state in the elections of 2024, the budget was increased to be competitive with political ads who were drowning out any other advertising.”

The media allocation of that budget in 2024 was Digital: 74 percent; Television: 0 percent; Radio: 24 percent; Out-of-home: 2 percent. “With an increased saturation of political ads on terrestrial television, the N.C. State Fair concentrated on a mix of terrestrial radio and digital placements that included connected television, digital radio, social media, pre-roll and display advertising. This mix served us well as our messaging hit where the majority of our fairgoers were concentrating their media time, and led to an increase in overall attendance.”

This increase in digital marketing was hampered by an infestation of bots and trolls. The fair was subject to a rash of internet disruptions negatively impacting the usual promotions. “Due to constant spam attacks, the N.C. State Fair did discontinue many of our social media giveaways this year,” he said.  “Instead, we focused our energy on both short- and long-form video to hyper-focus on interactions with a teen audience. We utilized both trending sounds and trending concepts to grab the attention of our audience, and differentiated messaging based on the audience using the platform. We marketed the same activities very differently, depending on the channel you may interact with the content on.”

Tar Heel Spirits

The fair introduced a new venue exclusively for Tar Heel spirits. – The N.C. Stillhouse – a bar that “served cocktails made with NC distilled spirits… [it was] new and popular.”



It also augmented the fair's vast selection of fair cuisine, served at 196 food stands. Top sellers in 2024 remained a mix of fair staples and reimagined staples. “Jerk Pork Belly Bao, Dilly Dog & Deep-Fried Ribs (various flavors), Peachey's Donuts and Korean Corn Dogs.”



A benevolent mother nature, effective marketing, booming economy and robust turnout added to a fair that besides the heated presidential election, came on the heels of a nearly devastating extreme weather event, Hurricane Helene. “Our expectations were exceeded,” said Yelverton. “Our fair was less than one month after North Carolina suffered the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene.  Our fair was less than one month before the 2024 General Election.  Our expectations were tempered by both events.”

What the 2024 North Carolina State Fair displayed was a fair in a rapidly changing region supporting its traditional base while welcoming the new arrivals, who seem eager to adopt this annual tradition. “Traditions and agriculture are our core and mission, but that has little meaning if we do not get fairgoers through the gates,” he said. “At our fair, food and rides are still very successful at drawing in younger generations.  We must communicate with and understand younger generations or we risk losing relevance quickly.”