Someone e-mailed me this morning about a picture of deep-fried Coca-Cola I have up on Flickr, and that reminded me to blog about the upcoming Got to Be NC Festival, which will be a little earlier this year. Instead of mid-June, the festival will be at the State Fairgrounds May 29-31. Admission to the festival will be free though some things (like events in the Grandstand) will have an admission fee.

I don't know if there will be deep-fried Coke there, but the Got to Be NC Food & Wine Expo will feature over 100 NC companies with foods, wines, cooking demonstrations, and samples. Admission to that is free. If you're all about NC 'cue, you might want to drop $10 on the Carolina Pig Jig, which takes place May 30 from 11 to 3. Your sawbuck gets you in to sample barbecue from all over the state as teams compete for pork glory. (Sides and drinks are included.) Got kids? If they're under 12 they'll get into the Pig Jig free.

The first Got to Be NC festival featured a huge exhibit of antique farm equipment and that will be in place for 2009, but there will be a couple of new features this year. One features machines made by the Corbitt Co., an early 1900s truck, tractor, and auto maker in Henderson. The other is the Fiber Fair, which will have demonstrations of weaving, spinning, carding, and other textile-making techniques. That'll be in the Holshouser Building (the round building where the Village of Yesteryear is during the Fair.)

If you're looking for more of a NC State Fair ambiance, you might want to check out the two stages offering all kinds of music, and the carnival rides, food, and games.

You'll find more about Got to Be NC at the event's blog, http://gottobenc.blogspot.com/. Wow, I didn't even know about the "World's Strongest Redneck" or the Harley-Davidson parade. Let's just hope it'll be about 20 degrees cooler than it was last year!