Watermelons; photo by aaron gilson on Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution / no derivative works).
Official State Festivals of North Carolina
North Carolina officially recognizes a number of agricultural and cultural festivals in the state, including the international Folkmoot USA festival:
Hertford County Watermelon Festival: Adopted as the official Northeastern North Carolina Watermelon Festival in 1993.
Fair Bluff Watermelon Festival: Designated the official Southeastern North Carolina Watermelon Festival in 1993.
Folkmoot USA: Designated the official State International Festival of North Carolina in 2003.
Ayden Collard Festival: Designated as the official State Collard Festival of North Carolina in 2007.
Lexington Barbecue Festival: Designated the official Food Festival of the North Carolina Piedmont Triad in 2007.
Albemarle Potato Festival: Designated the state Irish potato festival of North Carolina in 2009.
Jamesville Herring Festival: Designated the state herring festival of North Carolina in 2011.
Grifton Shad Festival: Designated the state shad festival of North Carolina in 2011.
Snea: ds Ferry Shrimp Festival: Designated the state shrimp festival of North Carolina in 2011.
Shelby Livermush Festival: Designated the official state fall livermush festival of North Carolina in 2012.
Marion Livermush Festival: Designated the official state spring livermush festival of North Carolina in 2012.
Swansboro Mullet Festival: Designated the official state mullet festival of North Carolina in 2012.
Dublin Peanut Festival: Designated the official state Peanut festival of North Carolina in 2013.
Blue Monday Shad Fry in East Arcadia: The annual shad fry held on the Monday after Easter Sunday in the Bladen County town of East Arcadia was designated the official state Blue Monday Shad Fry of North Carolina in 2013.