THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 19, 1994 TAG: 9410190410
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
The hushed intensity inside the Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. Horse Arena provided a far different atmosphere than the cacophony in the rest of the 127th North Carolina State Fair.
While outside vendors shouted over music blaring from loudspeakers for people to buy souvenirs, try for a prize or peek at a freak show, the announcer inside the horse pavilion asked the sparse audience to keep it quiet.
``This is like coming back to an old stomping ground,'' said Lynn Sava of Elizabeth City, who had spent five state fairs sitting in these stands as her son, John Matthews, showed quarter horses.
Her son is in college now, but Sava and some other family members were still drawn to Saturday's Youth Day horse show and its respite from the other more crowded and chaotic fair venues.
``It's like coming home again - the red mud, the smells and everything,'' she said, adding minutes later, ``It's serious business. These kids work really hard.''
That was evident from the expressions on the faces of the young competitors Saturday morning, including 7-year-old Davis Allard of Castle Haynes, near Wilmington.
Allard rode an appaloosa named Misty Floats, his wide-brimmed, black suede hat barely visible above the rim of the stadium seat barrier.
``There's a lot of stress when you get in that ring. All the kids want to win,'' said lawyer James Allard, keeping an eye on his son from the stands.
``The most pressure-filled part of it is to see if they remember all those things that you've drilled them on, and if they can keep their attention on them.''
In other sections of the 344-acre fairgrounds, more than 4,500 exhibitors kept their attention on the 184,785 fairgoers who visited the state fair opening weekend.
Among them were Karen Malmquist and Ihrie Knott, who solicited new members for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Smokers Alliance.
This year's west Raleigh gala celebrated North Carolina's agriculture, which remains the state's largest industry and last year represented 30 percent of the state's $149 billion income.
Among the crops on display was tobacco, thanks to political lobbyists who set up booths inside various entrance gates.
``It's amazing. I've had as many nonsmokers as smokers sign up because everyone agrees people should be courteous and have the right to chose,'' Malmquist said, handling petitions from a steady stream of signers.
Knott is one of those nonsmokers who believes in smokers' rights. ``I'm from a small tobacco town,'' she said. ``If they classify tobacco as a drug, it'll destroy my town. It'll destroy a lot of towns in eastern North Carolina.''
Just up the walkway, a church group distributed Bibles to visitors leaving the Village of Yesteryear, similar to this area's Albemarle Craftsman's Fair.
Dressed in period clothing, artists such as Elizabeth City's Mary Spruill entranced young and old with her Colonial craft known as quilling, so named by coiling paper strips around quills.
``To be such an old art, it is very little known,'' Spruill said before launching into a demonstration of the centuries-old paper art. ``In fact, it was as popular in the Colonial days as painting and music.''
About 50 feet away, tucked into an alcove, was Currituck decoy carver Wallace O'Neal, who, like Spruill, is a regular at the Raleigh fair.
``We usually do pretty well, not as well as some wildlife festivals though,'' the Aydlett artisan said from behind a display of wooden ducks decorated with stretch canvas.
According to a 1993 survey, nearly 20 percent of fairgoers come for the food. The multitude of concessionaires offering everything from roasted corn-on-the-cob to the ubiquitous cotton candy did not disappoint.
Another 14.3 percent of the 1,200 respondents in the CompuTouch poll said they were drawn to the midway. This year's state fair had plenty of blood-curling and stomach-hurling rides for the adventuresome.
There were plenty of ticketholders in line for the pony rides, too, as well as the roller coasters and Ferris wheels.
Bryant Jennings, 8, was one of the Camden County 4-H youngsters enjoying the rides after showing his lamb at a livestock show.
``It was such a new experience for him,'' said his mother, Susan Jennings. ``He wasn't pleased with the way he placed, but he enjoyed it.''
For Jennings and many other, newer livestock exhibitors, the fair was marked by a twinge of sadness.
``The purpose of the project is to raise and release,'' explained Noel Williamson, who's son Ryan, 10, had just gotten a $190 bid on his lamb.
Would it be hard to say good-bye? ``A little,'' the Clinton boy said, struggling to keep his lamb still.
``But you know you'll be getting another come July 15th,'' his mother said. ``It's almost a relief to know that you don't have to get up every morning after this.''
For those who had to forgo football for the fair, local television stations broadcast the games from monitors and wide screens.
The more artful-minded could browse among amateur and professional paintings and photographs at the W. Kerr Scott Building, one of the more crowded areas on Friday, when a nasty rainstorm moved through.
``I've been here 10 years, and that was the worst rain I've ever seen at the fair,'' said Deborah Ellison, a fair spokeswoman. Attendance was down 3,100 from this time last year, presumably because of the foul weather, she said Monday.
Across from a couple of asphalt walkways, in an education building, the Chowan County 4-H program was making its debut as an exhibitor for the Northeast region.
Their banner announced the Chowan group was ``Committed to Personal, Family & Community Excellence'' and offered the public a chance to step up, spin a wheel and take a tip.
A tip for anyone still planning to visit the State Fair, which runs through Sunday, is to live it up, enjoy the shows and just have a good time. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by ANNE SAITA
Trotting at the Hunt arena
Riders and their horses participate in a walk-trot event at the
horse pavilion during the opening weekend of the 127th North
Carolina State Fair in Raleigh. About 184,785 fairgoers visited
during the weekend.
by CNB