The North Carolina State Fair concluded its 11-day event in Raleigh with a total attendance of 946,811. According to organizers, Monday and Tuesday saw particularly high visitor numbers, marking the second largest Monday and third largest Tuesday for attendance in the fair’s history.
“It’s been a very strong year, and we are happy with that,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “A lot of attention gets focused on attendance figures, and we do want to see strong numbers, but that is not the only barometer we use to measure success. Across the fairgrounds and throughout the fair we saw a lot of smiles and a lot of happy people. And that’s what makes all the hard work worthwhile – every day and every year!”
The Junior Livestock Sale of Champions was held on the final day, raising $214,830 for champions and for the junior livestock scholarship program.
Competitions also drew significant participation this year with more than 27,000 general and livestock entries registered. The horticulture competitions featured a full display of apple entries after Hurricane Helene had limited participation in 2024.
A new site record was set at the giant pumpkin contest with an entry weighing 2,244.5 pounds; another pumpkin in the contest also weighed over 2,000 pounds.
Smithfield Hunger Relief Day collected enough food donations to provide approximately 150,000 meals—equivalent to 16 tractor truckloads—which will be distributed within the community to support those facing food insecurity.
Agriculture remained central at this year’s fair as well. Eleven farm families from across North Carolina were recognized as part of Tractor Supply Co.’s Farm Family of the Day program.
Organizers have announced that next year’s N.C. State Fair is scheduled for October 15-25, 2026.
