Can I get that deep-fried?

The racetracks are definitely fun, but I have been going to the fair since before I knew anything about NASCAR! I really do love the fair, and it was only a few short years ago that we discovered that the Dixie Classic Fair has it all! The State Fair in Raleigh is BIG time, but for just as much fun and whole lot closer to home... the Dixie Classic has been the place for us!

As soon as you enter the gate, the sights, sounds, and especially the smells will lure you in right away!

The first stop for me is the roasted corn! Cooked to a sweet tenderness, never mushy...

Oh, did I mention the butter?!

I add some Old Bay seasoning and I'm ready to chow down!

And we're just getting started!

Can we get something deep-fried?!

If you can think of it, they're frying it! Deep-fried Oreos or Snickers... Deep-fried Hamburgers or macaroni and cheese... you name it!

We've tried the deep-fried bacon and loved it! It'll make you think of that delicious collision of pancakes and bacon on your breakfast plate! And it's a good thing!

The deep-fried Twinkie is the classic! Creamy filling wrapped in a sweet and doughy blanket served up on a stick! It should be illegal!

But this year we tried something that looked a little different!

Deep-fried Kool-Aid!

I still don't know how it works...

Kool-Aid powder + sweet batter = intensely cherry nuggets of tasty goodness!

Sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar and this treat does not mess around!

After doing even more damage to whatever diets we might be on, we're off to the exhibit halls to check out blue-ribbon baking, canning, photography, and quilting!

All kinds of cakes and decorating to look at, I know I never had a school lunch that looked like it tasted that good!

And after checking out the displays of the domestic arts, we're ready to take in some agriculture!

Prize-winning vegetables in all different sizes and categories, and something else that's lots of fun to see...

Each year, the Dixie Classic fair has a theme, and one of the annual activities that goes with that is the opportunity that kids have to decorate vegetables in that theme!

In the spirit of this year's "Everyone's a Hero!" theme, these super-hero costumed vegetables were especially fun!

And then, of course, you've gotta check out the animals...

all kinds of livestock, pigs racing, herding dogs, the biggest horses you've ever seen, fuzzy bunny rabbits...
and crazy looking chickens looking back at you!

And even though you're full of deep-fried treats and giant turkey legs...

 It's time to hit the rides!

... Enterprise, Top Spin, Drop Zone, Music Express, the Zipper, and so many more! ... ready and waiting to spin, twirl, and hurl you through the night time sky!

And finally a highlight on every trip to the fair... the Giant Ferris Wheel! The view from high above the fairgrounds is something to see!

Whew! What a night! It's midnight and the crowds have dispersed... the lights are going down around us! We've closed the place down again this year! Tired and happy we head to the parking lot and pile in the car... I'm ready for a sleepy ride home!