Turkey Shoot leaving NC State Fair because it couldn’t meet this one requirement
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh Jaycees end Turkey Shoot after 72 years due to sound-proofing costs.
- Fair required noise reductions for 20-gauge shotguns, raising event expenses.
- Organizers cite long tradition of safety and community impact despite closure.
The Raleigh Jaycees said Wednesday they could not continue their annual Turkey Shoot after 72 years at the NC State Fair because the group could not meet requirements to sound-proof.
A tradition since 1952, the Turkey Shoot draws hundreds of competitors each year to shoot targets for the chance to win a Thanksgiving turkey and a T-shirt for bragging rights.
The Jaycees, who organize the event for charity purposes, announced last week that rising costs and requirements made it impossible to continue the tradition.
On Wednesday, the group said fair officials asked the group this year to sound-proof its booth to diffuse the sound of live 20-gauge shotguns. Jaycees considered briefly adding another wall of hay bales or buying sound-proofing equipment to meet this requirement.
Announcements on the PA system
When we calculated the additional cost of this requirement, as well as considered the flow and creation of the booth, it simply did not make sense to pursue with the new requirements,” said Connor Brady, Jaycees president, in an email. “While disappointing, we are grateful to have brought the game to fairgoers for so long and benefited the community. We have enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the North Carolina State Fair and always met their requirements over the years. I’m very proud of this history and the joy we have been a part of for so many, and while sad to see it end, thankful that we created this experience and provided it to thousands of families over 70 years.”
Fair officials said Wednesday they have heard noise complaints in the past.
Generally, those concerns had come from parents with young children with sensory sensitivities, veterans with PTSD and law enforcement officers,” said spokeswoman Andrea Ashby. “We recognized the challenges this unexpected sound presented for them.”
Until 2011, the Jaycees hosted their competition inside a familiar cinder-block building that grew to be too much of an eyesore for the fair to keep standing. Afterward, shooters took aim at targets posted on hay bales around tractor-trailers parked in a U shape.
The Turkey Shoot booth stood next to the fair’s Exposition Center, and Brady said he knew of no complaints.
“For years,” Brady said, “we have made announcements via our PA system to cover ears and that patrons were entering an area of live gunfire. For many fairgoers, it was something that they expected through the years.”
Fair officials issued this statement Monday:
“We are proud of the 70-year partnership with the Raleigh Jaycees,” said State Fair Director Kent Yelverton, “and to have been able to work with their members and provide a fundraising platform for this great service organization over the years.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Turkey Shoot leaving NC State Fair because it couldn’t meet this one requirement."