On the Art of Tobacco Stringing

When North Carolina summer turns to fall, an old tradition finds new life at the State Fair. In this episode, Shoresides talks with farmer Pat Short to learn about a tobacco stringing contest where participants bundle tobacco leaves onto sticks, in a process that's been an art here for generations. 

Links and Resources:

North Carolina State Fair Tobacco Stringing Contest – NC Department of Agriculture blog post on the contest’s history and significancedeepfried.ncstatefair.orgdeepfried.ncstatefair.org

“From Field to Fair: the ‘Commissioner’s tobacco’ gets special treatment” – Article on how a dedicated tobacco crop is grown for the State Fair’s stringing contestblog.ncagr.govblog.ncagr.gov.

Ph.D. Student Maggie Short: Looping Back to Tobacco – NC State University story featuring Pat Short and his daughter on preserving tobacco heritagecals.ncsu.educals.ncsu.edu.

Annual State Fair tobacco looping contest press release – NCDA&CS press release (Oct 2025) with background on the contest and the tradition of tobacco curingncagr.govncagr.gov.

Deep Fried Blog – Tobacco barn turns 20 – State Fair blog describing the contest’s community atmosphere and champion teamsdeepfried.ncstatefair.orgdeepfried.ncstatefair.org.