At the Fair: Marbles, UNC-TV tent continues to offer free fun

I've said the same exact thing, so when I heard a mom marvel at what her five- or six-year-old daughter got excited about at the N.C. State Fair this morning, I had to laugh.

There the girl was, jumping up and down, not able to hide her excitement over getting her picture taken with a large cut out of the Cat in the Hat.

"Of all the things, this is what you're getting excited about at the fair?" the mom said.

The family had stopped Monday morning outside the UNC-TV and Marbles Kids Museum booth near Dorton Arena. The two are teaming up for the fourth year for a tent at the N.C. State Fair.

This year, fans of the space will notice there is a bigger tent with a taller roof that houses some new features inside, including a new logo wall and red carpet for kids to have their pictures taken with UNC-TV characters when they stop by.

The booth is open from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. daily until Sunday, the last day of the fair. You'll find regular storytimes here around 10 a.m. each day. Read-a-roo, UNC-TV's reading mascot, and other characters will stop by throughout the day.

They have lots of stickers and some cute bags with Grover to give away. Best of all, it's free.

"We pride ourselves on not charging anybody anything," said UNC-TV's Steve Volstad.

The tent, which hosted a variety of characters on Saturday, will have more special activities this Saturday. They include the band The Motley Tones, which will perform music for kids from noon to 2p.m.