Christmas Carousel shopping event returns this year with changes

The annual Christmas Carousel shopping event at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds starts Friday at 9 a.m. and will go on despite the coronavirus pandemic. The event will go on until Sunday.

Even organizers have been preparing for a safe and comfortable shopping experience for this year’s event and will be following all the North Carolina Department of Health and Humand Services and CDC guidelines for retail establishments.

Masks will be required for all vendors and attendees.

Attendance will be monitored with real time ticket scans every hour to comply with 50% occupancy mandates and entrance may be limited at certain times. 2,340 people will be allowed into the 90,000 square foot facility at one time.

Les Gray has been working to adapt the event to the new guidelines.

“Our efforts this weekend is obviously still trying to continue the tradition as much as we can,” said Gray. "It’s a lifeline for a lot of these exhibitors because they have the stuff they’ve worked on for so long and they have this platform to be able to sell, so it’s so important for folks right now.”

Shopping aisles have been widened to 13 feet allowing for one-way shopping, and hand sanitizing stations will be stationed on the show floor.

Every exhibitor will also have hand sanitizer available for shoppers.