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RARSfest Directions

Please note that Blue Ridge Road is closed south of the intersection with Hillsborough Street (lower right corner of the map). Beryl Road (off Blue Ridge Road south of the train tracks) is also closed.

RARSfest is in the Jim Graham Building at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Access to the Fairgrounds remains fluid. We will update this page as we get closer to the event, so check back often. In any event, expect it to take it longer than usual to get to the Fairgrounds.

If you are driving, we strongly recommend using Gate 5, instead of Gate 9. It will be easier to find the RARSfest building if you use Gate 5, and Gate 5 is the only gate open first thing Saturday morning. See below for directions to Gate 5. Look for blue and yellow signs, like the ones depicted below, in and around the Fairgrounds relative to Gate 5.

Once inside Gate 5, the RARSfest building will be ahead and to your right, behind two other buildings. For parking, bear very slightly right to stay on the paved road and park where shown on the map. For the load-in entrance, turn right and follow the road to where indicated on the west side of the Jim Graham Building. If you are walking use any open gate and make your way to the Jim Graham Building using the map below.

If you have trouble finding us, call our talk-in station on the W4DW repeater (146.64 MHz -0.6 MHz offset, no tone).

RARSfest Entrances

All general admission attendees must use the entrances at the front (north end) of the Jim Graham Building. There are two entrances at the front of the building. The main entrance on the left (as you're facing the front of the building) is for people to purchase tickets at the door. The will-call entrance on the right is for people who purchased “Early Bird” tickets online or by mail. People who already have a physical ticket (purchased from us at another hamfest or event) may use either entrance. Look for the blue and yellow signs, like the ones to the left and right.

License exam candidates should use the right-hand door at the main entrance (north end) of the Jim Graham Building. Exam candidates do not need a RARSfest admission ticket to take exams, but they will need one if they want to attend RARSfest before or after the exam.

All dealers, exhibitors, and flea market sellers must use the load-in entrance (the roll-up doors on the west side and about in the middle of the building, also known as the flea market entrance), whether they purchased online or not. Subject to availability, you can also purchase flea market tables and admissions tickets at the load-in entrance from noon until 7:00 pm on Friday and after 6:00 am on Saturday (no vehicles will be allowed to enter the building after 7:30 am, though). Note that the path to the south along the west side of the building is not for vehicle traffic.

RARSfest Staff and Volunteers must use the load-in entrance on both Friday and Saturday and check in at the volunteer table to pick up their wrist bands. Volunteers should arrive 15 minutes before their shifts start.

Directions to Gate 5

Unfortunately, there is no street address for Gate 5. You may be able to get close with just Youth Center Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607; on some maps, that takes you to Gate 4, and Gate 5 is just north of there. Look for the blue and yellow RARSfest signs at each end of Youth Center Drive.

Otherwise, if you are  . . .

  • North of the Fairgrounds, Southbound on Blue Ridge Road (e.g., coming off I-40)
    • Turn right onto Trinity Road
    • Left onto Youth Center Drive
    • Left into the Fairgrounds at Gate 5.
  • South of the Fairgrounds
    • Northbound on I-440 (Preferred)
      • Exit I-440 at Route 54/Hillsborough Street
      • Right at the bottom of the exit ramp onto Route 54/Hillsborough Street westbound
      • Continue past the Fairgrounds to Youth Center Drive
      • Right onto Youth Center Drive
      • Right into the Fairgrounds at Gate 5
    • Westbound on Western Boulevard (Not on the Map Above)
      • Continue on Western Boulevard to Powell Drive
      • Right onto Powell Drive
      • Right onto Hillsborough Street
      • Left onto Youth Center Drive
      • Right into the Fairgrounds at Gate 5.
    • Northbound on Blue Ridge Road
      You can't get there from here. The intersection of Blue Ridge Road and Hillsborough Street is closed. Beryl Road is also closed. Turn around, and go west (right) on Western Boulevard and follow the directions for Westbound on Western Boulevard immediately above.
  • East of the Fairgrounds, Westbound on Hillsborough Street
    • Continue past the Fairgrounds to Youth Center Drive
    • Right onto Youth Center Drive
    • Right into the Fairgrounds at Gate 5
  • West of the Fairgrounds, Eastbound on Hillsborough Street
    • Turn left onto Youth Center Drive
    • Right into the Fairgrounds at Gate 5.

As a last resort, try these GPS coordinates for Gate 5: 35.79429 N 78.71605 W, but be careful because they seem to produce different results on different mapping systems.