State and County Fair Success!

Almost all of us have visited the fair: strolled along the midway and screamed on the rides; scarfed down corn dogs or sausage and pepper rolls; checked out the rows of chickens, sheep and cows ready for or done with competition. And if you're like me, you've visited the Agriculture or Creative Arts buildings and taken in all the photography, art, baked and canned goods and wondered what it takes to get one of those blue, red or white ribbons.

I've been entering the state fair (and one county) fair since 1998. Over the past nine years, I've won seventeen blue ribbons (including two for national competitions: National Pork Board, and Pillsbury Pie Crust Championship), fifteen red ribbons, six white, and five honorable mentions. In addition to the pork and pie crust contests, I've also place three times in the Fleischmann's Yeast Contest, and won Best in Show for a decorated cake.

So, I think I've done it enough to offer you some great tips to get you started on the road to blue ribbon success!

Are you a fantastic baker? Craftier than Martha Stewart? Are your quilts heirloom quality? Do you can a mean jar of strawberry jam? You'll find that at many fairs, there is a category that jells with your interests. Some general fair categories are:

Baked Goods (including decorated cakes, regular cakes, cookies, pies, breads and candies; as well as national competitions)
Photography (both amateur and professional)
Art (amateur and professional)
Hobbies
Woodworking
Quilts
Handmade Clothing
Fruits and Vegetables
Wines
Canning

When I entered the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts in 1998, I gave it little thought: merely sent in my entry form and entered my categories (Art- drawings, and Canning). I had never been to a state or county fair before, and had no idea what the creative arts section looked like. I lucked out, winning second place in my art category, but if you seriously want to win ribbons, you absolutely have to approach it better than my fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants method.

First step: Visit the fair! All fairs display the winners. Check out what's garnered a ribbon. Do you think you can do a better job? Grow a better vegetable? Do a better job decorating a cake dummy? You'll have a leg up if you get an idea of what you might be up against. Then start planning for the next year.

Fairs have what's called a premium book: a book listing all the entry categories, general rules and regulations, entry fees (if any), and entry forms. Call the fair office and request one be mailed to you. At the Tennessee State Fair (the fair I enter), they are generally sent out about two months before the entry deadline. With the book, you'll get a better idea of all the individual categories.

If you already know what categories you'd like to enter before your premium book arrives, practice working on your entries! It won't do to try out a new recipe the night before you take it to the fair for judging, or begin growing that blue ribbon veggie two months before the fair. Here's a list of tips to help you maximize your chances of winning:

*Buy only the best seeds for planting, and the best ingredients for baking. You want your vegetables and flowers to stand out, and your baked goods to have the best flavor.
*Test your recipes on families and friends. That's what they're there for, right? If you have to, bake/cook them more than once. For my first place winning dish in the National Pork "Wow Now!" championship in 2005, I made the dish three times before I was sure it was good enough. I ended up winning $250 and an appearance on local television.
*If you're entering the photography or art divisions, get your framing and/or matting done early. That way, you won't have to worry about the framing shop missing YOUR deadline!
*Time your planting! Do you know how long it takes to grow that pumpkin or squash? Make sure that your fruits and veggies won't be rotted come fair time, or your flowers limp and missing half their petals.
*Enter as many categories as you can! I remember one year entering about twenty-four categories, and went home with ribbons in the double digits. Your chances of gleaning a ribbon will increase with more entries.
*Don't think that you have to wholly make up a new recipe (although that's great if you can!). If you have a recipe that just needs some tweaking, go ahead and do that. Recipes cannot be copyrighted, but I recommend not outright stealing someone else's recipe. Change it up and make it better.

For my Pillsbury pie crust winner, I took an awful black bottom pie recipe, corrected it, then added a white chocolate layer, cherries, and a sugar-and-cinnamon heart crust top. I transformed something disastrous (it really did taste bad) into something the judges loved.

Another invaluable tip is to talk to the judges, or chairperson for the category. Most, if they have the time, are perfectly happy to tell you what works and what doesn't, and what they're looking for. In 2006, I took it a step further and took a year off from entering to actually work at the fair; dividing my time between the Bakery and Photography competitions. I helped set up, take in entries, slice up pie, cake and bread winners, and helped the judges in the Pillsbury Pie Crust Championship contest. Here are some more memorable tips:

*You have a better chance of getting a ribbon in Photography in the categories least entered, such as Black and White Flowers (most people enter in Color), Black and White Still Life, and Human Nature, and Architecture. Flowers, Animals, and Children are heavily-entered categories.
*Clean Your Glass! I learned this the hard way, the first time I entered back in Topsfield, with a big note from the judge. Anything you enter, make sure it's clean and presentable. If it's a baked good, dress up the plate with a doily.
*Follow, follow, follow the rules! For instance, don't enter more lots (sections within categories) than you are allowed. And make sure you get your entries to the fair on the right days and times. Remember, this is hard work for those putting the exhibits together. Plus, you might get paid if you win, so treat it as a job.

Most fairs will have certain entry days for categories. At the Tennessee State Fair, entries for Agriculture and most Creative Arts entries are about a week before the fair starts. Take your time, and don't worry about crowds if your fair is like that. Most people trickle in over the two days to drop off their entries.

*A good idea is to make a copy of all your entries, in case your entry form is misplaced or lost. Take it with you when you drop off your entries. This is especially good if you have to pay an entry fee; that way, if you have a copy on hand, your money won't have gone to waste.

For baked goods, there is generally a window of a few hours to drop these off, so they can be judged the same day. My advice, from working this particular part of the fair and dropping things off myself, is to get there early! If at all possible, plan to be there when the doors open. The line can get very long later.

*If at all possible, have someone help you, especially if you have something fragile, like a decorated cake. That way, you can concentrate on keeping it together, making sure things don't fall or get squashed, etc., and they can do the driving!

Our fair allows entrants to come back to watch judging and await the results. While I don't recommend lurking over the judges' shoulders, you can watch from a safe distance.

If you don't win, don't despair. If you can nab a judge, ask what didn't work, and what worked for the winning entries. Then you can apply that information to your entries for next year.

Here are some more random tips to maximize your success:

*If you're entering flowers, try your best to cut them first thing in the morning. Cut the stem at an angle, and place them in warm water. Place them in the fridge to perk them up, but make sure you don't have any open fruits or vegetables in there with them.
*For Photography, there are less entries in black and white than color.
*For Canned Goods, make sure your jellies and jams are bubble- and cloud-free, and your jars clean. Dressing them up with a "hat" or decorated lid won't hurt!
*For Fruits or Vegetables, make sure they are blemish-free. And larger doesn't necessarily mean better.

In 1998, I was totally bitten by the fair bug, and proudly have been calling myself a "blue ribbon junkie" for years now. It is a complete thrill to hear my name called as a winner, and see my winning entries displayed. And all the ribbons and money I've won isn't bad, either! But most of all, even though it's hard work to win those ribbons, it's also a great deal of fun, and gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I hope these tips and information lead you to feel that, too.

And please, if you win something, come back to this lens and tell me about it!