5 bizarre but delicious foods we tried at the 2024 North Carolina State Fair

Bacon ice cream, orange creamsicle slushie, candied Oreo cakesters — only at the North Carolina State Fair can you have these all in one place.

Driving the news: The N.C. State Fair runs from Oct. 17-27. And this year there are 73 new foods to try from more than 30 different vendors.

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If you're planning to try all 73 new foods in a day, you're going to need a plan. Here's a map of the foods that are new for 2024. Map of new N.C. State Fair foods courtesy of the N.C. State Fair

My thought bubble: This year's list of new dishes is on another level with ridiculous combos like deep-fried baby back ribs, battered bologna fries, hot Cheetos funnel cake and deep-fried spaghetti.

Here are the 5 weird (but delicious) new foods to try:

Strawberry Lemonade Donut from Fluffy's Hand Cut Donuts

Stop by: Located near the Antique Farm Machinery and The Marketplace.

Dig in: This doughnut is topped with tangy lemon frosting, strawberry lemonade crumbles, freeze-dried strawberry slices and gummy candy.

• For added flavor, you can squeeze the strawberry lemonade pipette on the donut.

Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Battered Bologna Fries from Granny's Country Kitchen

Stop by: Located in the Pitzer Heritage Circle near Heritage Circle and Ember Fire Arts.

Dig in: This savory snack item can also be loaded with chili cheese sauce. The vendor's menu is filled with other country-fried favorites like country-fried steak and country ham if you want to pig out.

Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Granny Cone from Magdelena's Chimney Cakes

Stop by: Near Cotton Park Family Fun Zone, Fire Safety Show and Casey's Clubhouse.

Dig in: This Hungarian dessert is a chimney cake filled with a scoop of buttery cream cake, layered with maple bacon ice cream, topped with crunchies and whipped cream.

Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Deep-fried ribs from Lawrence & Perry BBQ

Stop by: Between Dorton Arena and Cotton Park Family Fun Zone.

Dig in: Baby back ribs can be hand-tossed in a variety of sauces including BBQ sauce, lemon pepper, Carolina gold and sweet chili jerk. Each flavor is inspired by an N.C. area code.

Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Honey Butter Mozza Dog from GoldenKdog

Stop by: Across from Kiddieland.

Dig in: If you're torn between ordering something savory or sweet, try this mozzarella cheese dog rolled in homemade batter with panko then deep fried and drizzled with honey butter sauce.

Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Go deeper: Everything you need to know about the North Carolina State Fair

• See last year's highlights.