Sandpoint, ID

So you’ve grown a monster zucchini and you just can’t wait to show it off? Or maybe you’ve spent that last two years hand-stitching a beautiful quilt. Perhaps you’re sure your sow is the shapeliest porcine example in town. You’re certain your rabbit is the most adorable in Idaho? The Bonner County Fair is where you can see how your projects measure up to those of fellow citizens.

Here is how it works. The Fair rolls around about the third week of August each year. Look for what’s called the Fair Book earlier, say in July. You can pick it up free all over town. I usually get mine at the Co-op in Sandpoint, 125 Tibbets Lane. It has a color cover and newsprint pages.

Even if you never enter anything into the fair, read this booklet. It is different from so much of what you’ve read recently; trust me, no matter what you’ve been reading. This is an educational document. For example, did you know they’ll judge your jam on whether it has a percentage of 25% texture? Did you know you need to keep the leaves ON your kohlrabi for exhibit?

Look for the section on how to enter your exhibits. Read it, it helps. Also, it is short. Make special note of the day you need to take your stuff to the fairgrounds and when to pick it up. They usually start early and end late. (This year, the entry date is August 18 from 1:30 to 7:30 and the pick-up is August 23.) Then turn to your category. For your zucchini, go to vegetables. Make note of the class number and letter. Write it down and take it with you on the day of entry. Then make note of how they want you to display your item. I entered some garlic, so I knew I needed to bring three cloves. I also knew they would eventually appear on a white paper plate in the main fair building, along with the other vegetables.

When you get to the Fairgrounds on the magical date, it’s controlled chaos, so prep yourself. Everyone is walking around with their stuff: dioramas under their arms, bunches of huge sunflowers tied together with twine, baskets of rutabagas – goats on ropes back by the barns. There are tables set up and at the tables you will find the same perforated, manila fair entry forms that they have been using since about 1952. You fill one out for each item, with the info you so cleverly brought along with you so you don’t have to look it up on the spot. Tear off the bottom as your claim ticket, so you can find your prize-winning dahlia when the fair is over.

Little known categories include the Veggie 500, where you create a car out of that same zucchini, or perhaps an especially attractive potato. Also check out “nature’s oddities,” for kids age 12 or under where you enter that funky three-legged carrot or scary squash.

After you’ve done all your entering, by all means, go to the fair. Get the proverbial elephant ear! Gawk at the darling piglets. Marvel at some people’s patience (of course I’m talking about the knitting department here). You will have fun and you will be so proud to see your potatoes getting all that attention. Also, let me know if my gooseberry jam won anything. I sure hope so because I have to enter two jars and one will get opened and wasted just to make sure it was sealed properly!