bumper crop of fun

The North Carolina State Fair, named the bumper crop of fun for 2012, was a delightful night out.

No, I'm not just saying that because I was a food judge, there was also the promise of a giant pumpkin!!!

And yes, this is an nc state fair app. boom diggity. 

So ashley, jonathan, and i went. 

We saw the animals, like this goat, which ashley wanted to adopt, and a family of pigs:

  

And others, like bunnies. All adorable. 

And then, we found ourselves, with the pumpkins:

Oh yes, they are giant, can you even handle it???

I was so excited, clearly: 

I just really appreciate a place that recognizes the full glory of the best gourd. They had a nice little bench so we could pose for a picture with the lovely pumpkins and banner. The very best.

Of course there were many more pumpkins as well, in various shapes, sizes, and colors:

look how cute:

There were other vegetables, and vegetable categories, like food baskets, market stands, and food art. All awesome. 

Below are some hot peppers, sweet potatoes (NC's #1 crop), watermelons and big gourds:

Yes, yes. We ate food too.  Not a lot though, it's a bit overwhelming in the midway with all the rides and lights.  But we did get some absolutely delicious nc state ice cream:

AND the item of the year: fried girl scout cookies, samoas to be exact. 

Yes, they looked delicious. But I'm not going to lie, we were pretty disappointed by them.  The dough to cookie ratio was off, way too doughy, the solution would have been to have two cookies battered and fried...just saying. 

We then found ourselves checking out our handy work in the food preservation category, and so proud to see three of our nominees for best in show won for their respective categories! Yeah, we are great judgers...

Then we broke away from the bright lights and found the gardening section, complete with a giant chair for photos:

and Master Gardner Gardens: 

Overall it was a lovely fair experience. And I'm already excited for what 2013 will bring.

xoxo