Themed “Where Home Grown Happens,” this year’s State Fair will be held Sept. 27 through Oct. 6 at The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County.
This year’s horticulture contest categories cover a wide range of homegrown hobbies including dish gardens and terrariums, syrups and sauces, cut flowers and honey.
Participants also can get creative in categories like the People’s Choice scarecrow contest, or craft functional planters out of old shoes, boots or other repurposed items.
Crafters can vie for blue ribbons and bragging rights in divisions like duct tape creations, stained glass, handmade dolls, painting and drawing, woodcrafts and needlework.
New adult categories include hunting and fishing mounts and jewelry crafted with wildlife parts like antlers and feathers.
Three new food competitions are the Virginia Potatoes Recipe Contest, the Virginia Home Grown Vegetable Casserole Contest and the Sabra Hummus Recipe Contest.
The Virginia Peanut Growers Association is sponsoring a “Grab & Go” peanut recipe competition challenging contestants to create snacks using Virginia peanuts or peanut butter.
Dairy Days at the fair will feature a live grilled cheese judging on Sept. 29 and a live charcuterie board contest on Oct. 2. Entrants will prepare their boards using at least six items that are grown or processed in Virginia.
“Participating in a State Fair competition puts you right in the middle of the action,” said Sarah Jane Thomsen, the fair’s manager of agriculture education. “It’s the thread that runs through the entire fabric of what makes fairs enchanted.”
Competition guides are posted on the State Fair’s website, StateFairVa.org.
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Crystal Graham
