People ask me why I don't attend the state fair...

[LiberalinNC]

Most State Fair Rides Fail Inspection

POSTED: 1:28 pm EDT October 13, 2005
UPDATED: 3:21 pm EDT October 13, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Many rides may be shut down when the North Carolina State Fair opens Friday.

Only 33 of the 111 rides at the fair had passed the state's safety inspections by Thursday afternoon.

Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry said inspectors and ride operators are working "day and night" to inspect and certify the rides.

Link: http://www.nbc17.com/news/5094953/detail.html?treets=tri&tid=2652012001813&tml=tri_4pm&tmi=tri_4pm_1_03000110132005&ts=H

[Lex]

1. I enjoy the State Fair without riding the rides (too expensive anyway)

I like to look at the ribbon-winning arts and crafts and plants. And all the animals--the flop-eared bunnies and the cows and the fancy chickens.

Really lots of exhibits to look at, and the shows at the horse arena are very entertaining.

I haven't ridden the rides for years and still have a fun night at the State Fair. Reminds me of going as a kid, which was always a special treat!

[LiberalinNC]

2. Yes, that's true, but I have kids who want to ride on the rides,

and I'm not always sure how safe those rides are. They are moved from state to state how safe can they be? (That's a quote from my 13 year old son). I will pass on attending the fair this year!

[NoSheep]

8. That's what I like too. I don't ride stuff. The good stuff is during the

day when I'm working. Can't take the crowds on weekends. The demolition derby is the coolest event!

[SunDrop23]

9. To me, there's nothing better than...

seeing a little girl, say 5 years old, in pigtails wearing jeans and cowgirl boots and leading her goat to the judging at the State Fair. That's a precious sight. And that part of it I like.

(Or a boy too, I think the little girls melt my heart because both of my kids are boys.)

[ncrainbowgrrl]

10. Hey- I saw that this year!

It really was totally adorable. Totally worth the admission fee.
I didn't go on any of the rides- too expensive-
6 tickets for the ferris wheel- and the tickets were $0.75/each. So- just the ferris wheel would have been $4.50. Yikes!!

[ncrainbowgrrl]

3. Yikes!!

Oh good, glad our wonderful Labor Commissioner is working on it. :sarcasm:

[bdot]

4. I don't go cause it's depressing.

Plus I have the Haunted House to do.

[LiberalinNC]

5. Where is your Haunted House?

Anywhere near Cary?

[bdot]

11. This year we are in Cary.

653 Cary Towne Blvd.
Village Square Shopping Center
Cary, NC 27511

It's trickier to find than normal cause normally we are in Raleigh. Cary has so much red tape on everything that we were lucky enough to get a permit to breath (although I'm quite sure somewhere on there it states we can't have any oxygen.) *laughs*
http://www.raleighjaycees.org/hauntedhouse/location.htm

[kimpossible]

6. At least here they catch them

This may be a case where NC state gov't actually gets it right.

From today's Herald-Sun article at http://www.herald-sun.com/state/6-656635.html -

North Carolina has some of the most stringent ride safety rules in the nation, operating under a "100 percent" rule. The rule requires all rides to comply completely with manufacturer's specifications to pass inspection, Berry said.

As an example, Weber cited a hypothetical merry-go-round with one horse not working.

"In every other state you'd be able to take that horse off and the ride would be able to run. But in North Carolina if one horse doesn't work you can't run the ride," he said.

Spin? Maybe. But the fact that those rides were running freely in Oklahoma and Florida before they were shut down by inspections here does give me some confidence that they'll be reasonably safe when they open.

[kick-ass-bob]

7. we have some of the toughest requirements in the country.

Why is this a bad thing?