How to Participate in your State, County or Regional Fair

It's almost that time of year again, that is making and entering into your local fairs. I am not talking about craft fairs, competitions or anything else that is juried to participate. No I am talking about the State, Regional and County fairs to which you as a citizen of those are eligible. State, county and Regional Fairs, contrary to popular misinformation are alive and doing ok. State Fairs and County Fairs were actually written into each states constitution. It's hard to imagine something done for the people of an area that is not taxed. State Fairs, County Fairs were designed because each state in its formation was based on agriculture. That is people who worked the land. So these specific dates were set aside for all to come and trade, have fun and enjoy each other's company. Wikipedia has an excellent resource for connections to your home state fairs. And its not limited to the USA almost every culture in the world has a similar " Fair" for the people to participate in. One thing that many don’t know about is the exhibits. While many go to the midway there are sections to which the people of the areas compete against one another. These are called exhibits or exhibit competitions, and all State and County and Regional fairs have them.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A telephone
• Notepad
• Internet with Google
• a few dollars
• imagination

1. These are teh first steps opnce you decide you are going to try.
   
   1.Know which State you live in. You would be surprised how many people just don't realize which state they live in.
   2. Visit wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_fair and find your state fair
   3. Google search your county fair, such as Jefferson county TN fair. Remember to add your state abbreviation and county name. You can also contact your local chamber of commerce or your state Fair association.
   4. Check the date. Typically fairs begin in late May or early June and go through October.
   5. Contact the fair office via email or phone. The people who run fairs DO return phone calls and emails.
   6. Ask for or download the exhibitors, competitions or event handbooks. These will tell you what types of competitions they will have.
2. Your entries:
   7. Now comes the hard part. All handcrafts submitted have to be made by the individual. So be prepared to spend some time on what ever you want to enter.
   8. Choose what you want to enter. Even if it takes you the full time between when you start and finish, take your time
3. Judging Tips
   
   9. Judges look for originality, finishing and little nuances that make your unique.
   10. Make sure the items are kept as clean as possible and if they are washable, do so at least two days
   11. Before the fair and if possible keep them in clean ziplock bag or covering.
4. 12. Since it's all about the ribbon and bragging rights, consider that any ribbon is better than no ribbon. And what's even better is that you can win money.
   
   13. There are of course a few downfalls; some fairs charge an entry fee. If they do it's usually a dollar or two. If you cant afford that, look round for counties that surround your county. Often you can participate in county fairs that touch directly your county. Look at your state map and see which ones are next to you. Often county fairs don’t charge a fee.

Tips & Warnings

• 14. To get an idea of what Fairs look for check out this list: 15. Handicrafts 16. Sewn 17. Knitted crocheted 18. Paper 19. Costumes 20. Clothing 21. Wood items 22. Silk and real flowers and floral arrangements 23. Pies 24. Cookies 25. Breads 26. Candy 27. Jelly 28. Toys 29. Cakes 30. Models 31. Handicrafts from kits 32. Paintings 33. Metal work 34. Photographs 35. All agriculture products (imagine growing a beautiful watermelon in your yard!) 36. Cattle 37. Rabbits 38. Goats etc. I also suggest to get a feel for this to watch State Fair 1945. It’s a musical but the fair competitions are wonderful to view. Imagine you doing what they did in that movie for real! Keep the exhibitors book from every fair you enter. This will help you plan for teh following years competition.
• AGE is NO object. There are compeitions for EVRYONE of EVERYAGE
• Some Fairs charge a dollar or two entry fee. Be sure what you make is of excellent your best effort quality. You want to make sure you get that fee back and then some.
• Some judges dont go by the rule books. There are protests that toyu can do if you want to challenge their rulings. I ahve tried this and it gets igonored. Just accept that its a ribbon and put it in a brag book.
• Your items may get damaged. Sometimes when a judge is in a hurry iotems get broken or dirty. This is a pitfall for any entry. COnsider how fragile the item is and diplay it accordingly.