North Carolina State Fair

RALEIGH — Andrew Vial of Liberty calls his watermelon-growing expertise a hobby. It’s a pretty good one. Vial was the winner again in the Great Pumpkin & Watermelon Weigh-off that’s associated with the North Carolina State Fair at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. Vial was the winner with an entry of 306 pounds. There were 22 watermelons entered into the contest. A year ago, Vial’s 341-pound entry was the largest in the history of the N.C. State Fair. Vial, 39, puts in up to 60 hours a week tending to his crop of watermelons. Second place went to Patrick VanBeck…