Drop off Mountain State Fair entries by Aug. 20
by Anna Oakes
The Mountain State Fair takes place two hours away from Boone,
but the Pony Express makes it easy for Watauga County residents to enter the fair’s many
creative competitions.
The Sept. 7 to 16 fair takes place at the WNC Ag Center in Fletcher and among other activities includes competitions in hundreds of categories — including basketry, ceramics, doll making, woodwork, photography, jams and jellies, quilts, leather crafts, metal works and more.
The fair offers a free service called the Pony Express to residents of 12 Western North Carolina counties, including Watauga, allowing contestants to drop off their entries at the local N.C. Cooperative Extension office. Anyone interested in entering nonperishable items to this year’s fair can drop them off at the extension office by Aug. 20.
“I know we have had some people win some ribbons in the past,” said Karee Mackey, 4-H youth development extension agent at the Watauga County Cooperative Extension office. “We would like to have more people participate.”
Entries should be wrapped and packaged securely for transport. Each package should be labeled with the entrant’s name and county of residence and have a completed entry form attached.
Staff from the N.C. Cooperative Extension and Mountain State Fair will transport entries to the fair for free, where they will be judged and displayed. Entries will be returned to extension offices no later than Sept. 21. Any prize money won will be mailed directly to the winners provided that they include a Social Security number on the entry form.
A catalog of competition categories, rules and entry forms are available at the Watauga Cooperative Extension or by visiting http://www.mountainfair.org/mountain-state-fair/competitions.html.
“Anything you have created, there’s a category,” Mackey said.
Many categories include separate divisions for youth and senior citizens.
“Anything the kids have made over the summer would be perfect to enter in,” she said. “Kids get a real sense of accomplishment if they get a ribbon.”
The Watauga Cooperative Extension office is located at 971 W. King St. in downtown Boone. For more information, call (828) 264-3061.
The Sept. 7 to 16 fair takes place at the WNC Ag Center in Fletcher and among other activities includes competitions in hundreds of categories — including basketry, ceramics, doll making, woodwork, photography, jams and jellies, quilts, leather crafts, metal works and more.
The fair offers a free service called the Pony Express to residents of 12 Western North Carolina counties, including Watauga, allowing contestants to drop off their entries at the local N.C. Cooperative Extension office. Anyone interested in entering nonperishable items to this year’s fair can drop them off at the extension office by Aug. 20.
“I know we have had some people win some ribbons in the past,” said Karee Mackey, 4-H youth development extension agent at the Watauga County Cooperative Extension office. “We would like to have more people participate.”
Entries should be wrapped and packaged securely for transport. Each package should be labeled with the entrant’s name and county of residence and have a completed entry form attached.
Staff from the N.C. Cooperative Extension and Mountain State Fair will transport entries to the fair for free, where they will be judged and displayed. Entries will be returned to extension offices no later than Sept. 21. Any prize money won will be mailed directly to the winners provided that they include a Social Security number on the entry form.
A catalog of competition categories, rules and entry forms are available at the Watauga Cooperative Extension or by visiting http://www.mountainfair.org/mountain-state-fair/competitions.html.
“Anything you have created, there’s a category,” Mackey said.
Many categories include separate divisions for youth and senior citizens.
“Anything the kids have made over the summer would be perfect to enter in,” she said. “Kids get a real sense of accomplishment if they get a ribbon.”
The Watauga Cooperative Extension office is located at 971 W. King St. in downtown Boone. For more information, call (828) 264-3061.