With the heat this summer and little rain some of the competitors at the Bayfield Fair are worried their big vegetables are not going to be very outstanding this year. For those who have a garden, do consider exhibiting your garden crops this year. The key is to have each entry the same size as the others even though they may not be their normal size. One young lad didn’t have access to his grandparent’s garden this year so he decided to put pots out to grow his vegetables. With a lot of watering he is doing not too badly. He even created a herb garden in a baby buggy so he could keep moving it. This is a summer to think of entering the fair’s vegetables competition and join the group of several people who love to see who has the best this season.
If you have a flower garden, now is the time to check to see what will be blooming in the middle of August just ready for the fair. It’s a time to trim off spent blooms and encourage the new growth to be ready for first place exhibits. Bayfield is known for its huge flower show and always welcomes new exhibitors into the cut flowers, plants, and/or flower arrangement sections.
Check over your picture collection this past year to see if any fit the various classes in photography. With the heat maybe it’s the perfect excuse to go for a drive and take pictures that could be entered.
As the warm season continues, save a jar of your jams or jellies or preserves. It’s a great feeling to find you had the best jam of all those competing and it sure is better than the mass produced jams. There are several recipes in the prize book to try and bring to the fair as well.
There are also handcrafts, woodworking, field crops, fruit, art, and children’s work that can be entered. It is a great pastime to have the children spend some of their creative time crafting exhibits for the fair. The young people also have the possibility of competing at the District and provincial level if they win the chocolate cookie and poster competitions. Posters should always include the name of the fair, its date, and its theme. The rest is creativity.
Make a goal this year of entering something at the fair. Ensure the Bayfield Fair continues to have one of the largest displays of exhibits in the area. If there are any questions, send them to info@bayfieldfair.ca or call Susan at 519-482-5490.