If you live in North Carolina you have also probably heard of the North Carolina State Fair. If not, what rock have you been living under? The State Fair is a tradition that ties the building blocks of our economy and the social butterflies together in ways that many overlook while they walk around stuffing their faces with a fried Snickers or glorious funnel cake, or maybe both. Yes we take for granted the ways we live today until a stop through the village of yesteryear opens our eyes. As a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student, I see more. I see the past, present and future every step I take upon the red clay soils that cover the Fairgrounds.My favorite stop when I come to the Fair is indeed the Village of Yesteryear, which displays the arts and crafts that brought our lifestyles to where they are today. Seeing the hand carved arts reminds me of my grandfather in the wood shop, working with his hands to craft luxuries which are considered staple accommodations in this century, the effort and pride that is put in each cutting stroke of the chisel or each pass of the sanding paper unrivaled by the fast pace of the “have more and have it now” ideals of today.This was the way of the world not too long ago — after all, electricity was only discovered a little more than 250 years ago. Traveling more than 50 miles in a day was a big deal until the invention of the automobile, another discovery to grace our presence in the 20th century. The foods available at the fair are also rarities that only grace our presence — when the fair comes to town, you can imagine candied apples and fried Oreos booths on every corner around campus and greater Raleigh. Fair food is indeed in a group all its own — it’s defiantly not something that fits into the conventional food pyramid we see posted in our dining halls.And while our campus has its own array of interesting individuals that loiter in the Brickyard, it pales in comparison to the plethora the fair provides. In the past we had booths of a bearded lady or Siamese twins but now we have become more politically correct and educated, so we now see a woman with a hormonal problem and conjoined twins with a serious medical condition — nothing to poke fun at.Now they wander the Fairgrounds looking at the “Worlds Largest Pig” and the “100-year-old alligator” just like the rest of us, so who are the freaks now?The fair changed a lot over the past 100 years.In 1900, the first food booths pop up on the fairgrounds, run by churches and civic groups as fund raisers. In 1960, adult admission is 75 cents and child admission is 35 cents. In 1986, the fair was extended to 10 days. And in 2005, according to the State Fair Web site, Wade Shows brings 105 rides to the fairgrounds, the most rides ever there.When we look to the past, we see only the future holding onto tradition of change and development. No, our lives are now much more complicated than those of our ancestors, but at least it’s more interesting. Send your thoughts on the State Fair to [email protected].