Have you ever been to the State Fair of Virginia? If you said yes, you already know what a variety of activities comprise the state fair. If you said no, this is the perfect year to go.

Cultivating Virginia
Their catchphrase for the year is “Cultivating Virginia.” The State Fair of Virginia organization says its heritage is “nurturing the land and the hard-working values of people associated with the land.” It is doing this in the 21st century by preserving Virginia’s rural heritage while showcasing the best of contemporary Virginia.

With over 5000 farm animals, the State Fair of Virginia is touted as Virginia’s largest outdoor classroom. It has an animal nursery in which visitors can actually observe a variety of animals giving birth and chicks hatching. It also has a petting zoo, an indoor climbing area for goats and a very entertaining duck slide on which ducklings climb a staircase and slide down into the water.
Best of Show In 2007, the State Fair of Virginia received the “Best of Show” Award of all fairs entered, regardless of size, and seven “Best in Class” awards from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE). This is quite an impressive feat, considering the IAFE has a membership of over 3,200 fairs from around the world.  Also in 2007, the State Fair of Virginia was named the Virginia Agribusiness of the Year by the Virginia Agribusiness Council.

Show Me the Money But let’s not talk about what prizes the fair has won. Let’s talk about the prizes you can win at the fair. No, I am not talking about spending $100 on the midway games for some massive stuffed animal (although there are plenty of midway games if you do want to try your hand at such a feat). I am talking about entering your fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods or other products to see how they compare to the best in Virginia. The 2008 State Fair of Virginia is offering nearly $215,000 in premiums, with nearly $15,000 of that being for plants, crops and vegetables (including pumpkins). I caught the “fair bug” when I was 8 years old. My third-grade teacher really liked a collage of the seasons I had created and entered it in the fair without my knowledge. I won first place! That blue ribbon was great, but what caught my attention was that they award money to ribbon winners! A rabid fair contestant was born. Every year I scoured the fair book to determine where I could make entries, and out to the garden I would go to hunt for potential entries. How is the corn looking? Hmm, that pumpkin could be a blue ribbon winner with a little extra attention. Flower arranging? Sure, I have an old canning jar around here somewhere, and the yard is full of flowers… In addition to crops, plants and vegetables, the fair also has a variety of animal contests, baked goods and preserved foods competitions. There are also several youth categories. The fair’s many talent competitions provide an outlet for other forms of creativity. Therefore, if you are very good at playing a fiddle or banjo, imitating your rooster, calling your hogs, or even performing karaoke, the State Fair of Virginia is looking for you. You are not required to be a resident of Virginia to compete. In fact, you do not even need to be a United States citizen for most competitions. Restrictions apply to some competitions and are listed in the rules for that particular competition. Hurry—the deadline for entries is September 5! However, if you cannot make this year’s entry, there is always next year. The State Fair of Virginia has been going strong for over a century and a half and is not going anywhere, except to Caroline County sometime in the near future.

New Digs As most of you probably know, the State Fairgrounds were sold a few years back to make way for the new Richmond International Raceway (RIR) complex. The fair will be held at RIR again this year, but ground has been broken for a new State Fairgrounds in Caroline County, just east of Kings Dominion.

Walk Around Even if you are not entering any contests, you should at least go to the fair this year to see what others have entered. Don’t forget to visit the Horticulture building, which houses the Master Gardener booth as well as the plant, crop and vegetable entries. The Master Gardeners always have a great live insect display, and there is a giant cornbox (think sandbox, filled with hulled dried corn) for the kids. The fair runs for 11 days every year, and is going from September 25 through October 5 this year. Walk-around passes range in price from $8 weekday evenings to $13 on the weekends. Midway rides are extra. Ages 2 and under are free, including the many Kidway rides.

The State Fair website, www.statefair.com/2008, has more information, including competition guidelines. The general phone number is (804) 569-3200. For details or questions related to entering competitions, call (804) 569-3221 for livestock and youth categories and (804) 569-3237 for other categories.