RALEIGH – The smell of deep fried foods, the thrill of turbo speed rides and the excitement of winning huge prizes attracted thousands to this year’s North Carolina State Fair.

According to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 1,014,478 were in attendance this year, which is the fourth highest of all time.

However, final day attendance fell behind last year's numbers -- 113,470 versus 116,041, which was a record for the final day.

This was the 150th installment of the fair.

Tentatively, next year’s dates for the fair are set for Thursday, Oct. 11 through Sunday, Oct. 21.