After 2020 cancellation, North Carolina State Fair returning in 2021 State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler made the announcement during his annual State of Agriculture address Wednesday morning. Troxler, whose agency oversees the annual 11-day fair, said it was "unbearable" not to have a fair in 2020, but the agency is working to "make this state fair the best we've ever seen," he said. The North Carolina State Fair is scheduled for Oct. 14-24. The fair, first held in 1853, typically draws around one million visitors a year. Events have started to return to the state fairgrounds — most recently Dino Safari, which runs through March 7.