North Carolina State Fair

Yelverton continues. “We have over 344 acres; we have more than 400,000 square feet of indoor, leasable space. We are big enough and able to accommodate events of any size. So we do get a lot of business. We end up with an eclectic mix of events, but our biggest segment is consumer shows. For example, we host things like home shows, and in that case, a promoter would come in and lease one or more of our facilities and then sub-lease space to vendors promoting their products to the general public.” “Most of our events are indoor events,” Yelverton adds, “but we do have events that expand out of the indoor space into the outdoor space. For example, our annual farm show in February uses all of the indoor space, but also erects five large tents in our outdoor space, as well as using open air space to exhibit large equipment.” In order to accommodate the extensive slate of events, the Fairgrounds employ 79 full-time, year-round employees, as well as 39 year-round temporary employees, who all work for the state, since the Fairgrounds are a division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It is, however, a self- supporting organization and does not receive any state funding. Within its own staff compliment, the Fairgrounds have people who specialize in carpentry, plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, and automotive repair, to name a few. There is also an in-house public safety department with certified local police officers. THE NORTH CAROL INA STATE FA I R