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ASHEVILLE - Dill pickle lemonade, Krispy Kreme burgers and fluorescent Ferris wheels. It’s that time of year again for the North Carolina Mountain State Fair, where you’ll be able to find your favorite fairground food, rides and competitions from Sept. 8-17 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center at 1301 Fanning Bridge Road in Fletcher.

"We have had a lot of focus on Western North Carolina Heritage and really celebrating what makes Western North Carolina so special," said Ellerslie McCue, marketing and communications coordinator for North Carolina Western Agricultural Programs on the 2023 Mountain State Fair.

However, there are a few changes and exciting events at this years fair. Here’s what you need to know before heading out for your favorite fairground snack.

How do I get tickets?

Unlike recent years, admission tickets are not available at local Ingles, McCue said.

"We're not selling about Ingles this year, and our ride tickets are going to only be available at the fair," McCue said.

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Rides

Get in free?

For fair foodies:Love it or hate it: Eye-catching food, drinks at this year's Mountain State Fair

Parking

Weather

The first few days of the fair should have mostly sunny weather, and a weekend high of 84 expected, according to the National Weather Service. There is a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms on Sept. 9 with clearing expected later in the weekend.

Photos:2022 NC Mountain State Fair

Fair hours

Fair events

While there are many events going on every day during fair hours, here’s a few to highlight from the fairs first four days:

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at[email protected].

FLETCHER, N.C. —

County officials announced dozens of jobs and a multi-million dollar investment by a global company are coming to the area.

Officials in Henderson County, North Carolina, said Tageos, with headquarters in France, will open its first U.S. manufacturing facility in the town of Fletcher.

The company will move into a property that was formerly the home of Continental Automotive Systems, now called Quality Point, in Broadpoint Industrial Park.

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Tageos designs and manufactures RFID (radio-frequency identification) inlays and tags.

The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security website defines RFIDs as "technology that uses radio waves to identify people or objects." A device reads information contained in a wireless device or "tag" from a distance without making any physical contact or requiring a line of sight, the site said.

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The website goes on to explain:

"RFID technology has been commercially available in one form or another since the 1970s. It is now part of our daily lives and can be found in car keys, employee identification, medical history/billing, highway toll tags and security access cards."

Tageos plans to invest $33,750,000 in machinery and equipment and $2,000,000 in real property improvements by 2028, officials said in a release.

They said the project will create 92 new jobs in Henderson County with an average annual wage of $67,000, which is more than 40% above the county-wide average.

"Henderson County is the optimal location to efficiently serve our North and South American customer base," Tageos CES Matthieu Picon said. "We believe this expansion will be a very positive and monumental driver in the market.”

Tageos will be the first manufacturing tenant of Quality Point, with more than 50,000 square feet of the property's 338,000 square feet of manufacturing and headquarters space, officials said.

"The town of Fletcher is thrilled to see new life at Quality Point," Fletcher Mayor Preston Blakely said in the release. "With strong infrastructure in place, this building is unlike any in our region. Tageos is the first of many companies that will find their new home here."

The Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development released this statement about the hiring process:

"The company (Tageos), like most companies who locate here, will be posting jobs locally. We expect the hiring website to go live this Spring. They did receive a customized training grant through the North Carolina Community College system which will be administered at Blue Ridge Community College, allowing training opportunities for locals to upskill into a new position. Locals who are interested in manufacturing opportunities can go to a website created just for that: hendersoncounty.jobs."

For more on economic development in Henderson County, click here.

FLETCHER - A French technology manufacturer that was recently awarded a near $880,000 economic incentive over five years by the Henderson County Board of Commissioners chose Henderson County as its first North American manufacturing center, bringing 92 new jobs and a $35 million investment.

Tageos, a global designer and manufacturer of radio-frequency identification inlays and tags, will be coming to the former Continental Automotive Systems building, which is now called Quality Point. The site is located within the Broadpoint Industrial Park in Fletcher.

“The Town of Fletcher is thrilled to see new life at Quality Point. With strong infrastructure in place, this building is unlike any in our region. Tageos is the first of many companies that will find their new home here,” Fletcher's Mayor Preston Blakely said in a news release.

In addition to the incentive offered by Henderson County, the North Carolina Department of Commerce awarded the company with a grant through the One North Carolina Fund, which is a cash-grant program that responds quickly to competitive job-creation projects, according to the Department of Commerce's website.

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Fletcher will also provide incentives to the company, according to the release, and customized training will be available at Blue Ridge Community College.

"Henderson County’s strong economy and thriving manufacturing community continue to attract companies from all around the world, just like Tageos. Their decision to invest in our county will significantly strengthen the high-tech sector, and the new jobs will improve the quality of life for all citizens,” Chair of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners Rebecca McCall said in the release.

Each of the grants are based on job creation and capital investment, so the company will receive no money upfront, the release said. To get the allotted cash, the company must meet established targets and pay taxes.

The company plans to invest $33.75 million in machinery and equipment and $2 million in property improvements by 2028. The new jobs created will have an average annual wage of $67,000, over 40% above the county-wide average, the release said.

For the company, a location in the United States will help to serve customers in North and South America, Tageos CEO Matthieu Picon said in the release.

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"This new facility will also help us to further accelerate our sustainability mission of producing products in the same region where they are used," Picon said. "With that, customers can truly benefit from the fact that our RFID inlays and tags will be available quickly and sustainably."

Quality Point has over 338,000 square feet of manufacturing and headquarters space. Tageos is the building's first manufacturing tenant and will use around 50,000 square feet, but the building still has 30,000 square feet of tech space, 21,000 square feet of office space and up to 150,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

Christian Smith is a reporter for the USA Today Network. Questions or Comments? Contact him at [email protected] or (828) 274-2222.

FLETCHER, N.C. (WLOS) — Farming is nothing new for Western North Carolina, but sometimes you’ve got to try something just a little bit different.

Hurry up and wait: Truffle farmer shares process of growing delicacy in mountains of NC

In Fletcher, there’s one farm that’s moving its operation underground.

“We used to have a whole sale nursery here,” says Brian Upchurch who's been working with plant life of all kinds for years. The land he’s referring to still fosters an assortment of trees and plants. Once he sold off the nursery, he says his son wanted to do something with the farm.

His son came up with an idea: truffles.

It was a new adventure for the farm and a learning experience for Brian and his team.

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“We’re growing a symbiosis," he says. "It’s not just the host tree, it’s not just the truffle, it’s their interaction.” It's an interaction that will hopefully lead to a new outlook for the delicacy as well as a new appetite for domestically grown truffles. “It’s not enough to produce a truffle, we want to produce commercial quantities to make it viable.”

Brian and his small crew at Carolina Trufferies believe that quality, North American grown truffles can be a viable option for professional and amateur chefs alike.

“It’s a very perishable product," he says. "It has a very limited shelf life. Once it’s frozen it loses value and the attributes that make it desirable. So, the idea is if we can bump up production and get it to market quicker, which given that it doesn’t have to come through customs or import and so forth which is also an added expense for imported truffles. Growing truffles domestically would mean putting a fresher product on tables across the country. The downside is that there’s no supply chain to speak of in the U.S.”

Brian isn’t letting that stop his progress. He’s also learning about truffles most known for growing in European countries that will thrive in North Carolina.

“Most of the research, which is limited, has mostly been in Europe and they’re working with European host trees, European soils, their climate which is different than ours," he explains. "So, we have to adapt to our climate here and the host trees we’re using.”

Inside his greenhouse he shows off one of those trees.

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“This is a hybrid chestnut. It’s virtually all native American chestnut and enough Chinese chestnut to include resistance to the chestnut blight and we think this is going to be a really good host.” The chestnut may prove to be a good host, but to get to harvest one has to have patience, Brian says.

“It can be six to eight years for Tuber melanosporum which is the the black Perigord truffle."

But the waiting doesn’t phase Brian and his team. They’re even expanding their operation. They’ve already expanded to another, much larger farm, which could end up being one of the largest truffle farms in the country. And while he’s confident that truffles will be a huge success, Brian will be the first to tell you, “It’s exciting. But, you know, it’s a lot of hurry up and wait, because you just don’t know what’s going on underground.”

You can find more information about Carolina Trufferies below:

FLETCHER, N.C. (WLOS) — For decades, Windsor Forest has been a quiet and peaceful neighborhood in Fletcher. That could change, as a potential build of a 5G cell tower has left residents unhappy.

Windsor Forest residents afraid 5G tower is about to loom over quiet neighborhood

“Dear Lord, please don’t let this happen,” resident Revonda Buckingham said.

In May, Buckingham, who built her house in Windsor Forest more than 26 years ago, saw a group of workers outside on her lawn.

“I saw people out in my yard,” Buckingham said. “Came out and said, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ And they were taking pictures of the street signs and said they were with a company called Crown Castle.”

The company was scoping the area as a possible site for a 40-foot cellular tower.

NEW CELL TOWER NEAR THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY DESIGNED TO BLEND IN

Since that day, residents said they haven’t been able to find out more information.

“To this point, nobody has returned anybody’s calls,” resident Larry Cutrone said. “They don’t answer. They give you numbers that don’t work. They’re not very transparent.”

Fletcher Planning Director Eric Rufa has been in contact with Crown Castle, and he said there are other locations being considered.

However, the telecommunications company has the final say.

“There’s enabling legislation that granted these companies the right to do these types of facilities in public rights of way,” Rufa said.

RESIDENTS FIGHT PROPOSED CELL TOWER IN NEIGHBORHOOD, CONCERNED FOR SAFETY, PROPERTY VALUE

If the tower ends up in the neighborhood, the residents have a list of concerns including health and property value decrease.

“We have neighbors who are real estate agents, and they said this will diminish your property value greatly,” Buckingham said.

“Who wants to buy a house in this neighborhood when you’re looking at a cell tower,” resident Mark Washburn said. “You might as well stack a pile of dumpsters in front of my yard here.”

News 13 reached out to Crown Castle and has yet to receive a response.

Many residents plan to attend Monday’s council meeting to voice their opinions.

Rufa is optimistic the neighborhood could still be left alone.

“They will come, have the follow up with us and work with us on locating these,” Rufa said.

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Those involved with creating a petition to not put the tower in place say that by raising awareness with their situation, they hope it decreases the chances that it happens to other neighborhoods as well.