State Fair competitions for blue-ribbon bragging rights are now open
DOSWELL (July 16, 2024)—Cut flowers, duct tape, grilled cheese and Plymouth Rock are all part of competition categories at this year’s State Fair of Virginia, which will be held Sept. 27 through Oct. 6.
Competition guides for both adult and youth creative and culinary arts, horticulture and field crops, as well as 4-H and FFA competitions and livestock shows are posted on the State Fair’s website, StateFairVa.org.
Most entries are due in the beginning of September, but it’s not too early to start tapping into your creativity.
“We’re excited about the diversity of all the competition categories, and we know our competitors enjoy the creative outlet that these contests afford them,” said Sarah Jane Thomsen, the fair’s manager of agriculture education. “We also are happy to offer ribbons or prize money, but all of them get bragging rights!”
Cut flowers are one of the horticulture categories, and entries will be judged live on Oct. 2. Plymouth Rock is a breed of chicken that will be part of the poultry shows this year; and duct tape creations are one of many categories in the youth creative arts competitions.
This year’s culinary contests include a live grilled cheese judging on Sept. 29. Sponsored by the Virginia State Dairyman’s Association, the event is part of Dairy Days at the fair, celebrated the first weekend. Twelve contestants will prepare and cook a grilled cheese sandwich using their choice of bread, cheese and any additional ingredients they want to add.
Another Dairy Days culinary category is charcuterie boards. Entrants will prepare a charcuterie board on Oct. 2 using at least six items that are grown or processed in Virginia. Last year’s winner, Michelle Duggins, owner of Michelle’s Table in Fredericksburg, incorporated local goat cheese and caramel apple jam on her board.
Three new food competitions this year are the Virginia Potatoes Recipe Contest, sponsored by Dublin Farms’ Virginia’s Finest Potatoes; the Virginia Home Grown Vegetable Casserole Contest, sponsored by the Bowling Green Community Farmers Market; and the Sabra Hummus Recipe Contest, sponsored by Sabra.
Dublin Farms is a fifth-generation family farm in Accomack County on the Eastern Shore, where 80% of Virginia potatoes are grown. Contestants must prepare a dish where the potatoes (white, red or yellow, but not sweet) are the “star of the show.” They are encouraged to use Dublin Farms’ potatoes from their local grocery store. Entries will be judged on Oct. 1.
Participants in the veggie casserole contest are required to use vegetables grown in their own yards or purchased from a local farmers market.
The Virginia Peanut Growers Association is sponsoring a “Grab & Go” peanut competition. Contestants are encouraged to create snacks—hot or cold, sweet or savory—using Virginia peanuts or peanut butter.
Creative arts categories include traditional jewelry making, painting, photography, quilting, sculpture and woodcrafts. But other unique divisions include antler art and deer, fish or bird mounts. Other divisions cover jewelry crafted with wildlife parts like antlers or feathers, and floral arrangements made with similar components.
The 2024 State Fair of Virginia will run from Sept. 27 through Oct. 6. Information is available at StateFairVa.org.
The State Fair is held each fall at its permanent home at The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County and attracts 200,000 fairgoers. The event celebrates the best of Virginia’s past, present and future through scholarship initiatives, creative programming and a focus on the commonwealth’s agriculture and natural resources industries. In 2023, the fair was among 182 diverse events that drew more than 530,000 visitors to The Meadow. The venue had an overall regional economic impact of $41.5 million.
Contact Sara Jane Thomsen, manager of agriculture education for the State Fair, at 804-994-2743.