Judges Sharpen Skills At Fair Convention
MICHELLE KUNJAPPU
Lancaster Farming Staff
HERSHEY (Lancaster Co.)
The Pennsylvania State Associa
tion of County Fairs and the
Pennsylvania State Showmen’s
Association recently conducted
their 90th annual convention at
the Hershey Lodge and Conven
tion Center, Hershey.
The four-day conference, at
tended by nearly 1,600 people,
provided educational seminars
and roundtable discussions.
Part of the convention in
cluded a Judges’ School, where
approximately 100 participants
had the opportunity to brush up
on their skills or learn more
about a particular subject. Partic
ipants included “people who
want to leam to judge,” said
Annie Clark, Whitneyville, who
assisted Bev Gruber in organizing
the event.
“They chose two judging cat
egories and go to two sessions.
Most of them are getting certified
for the first time. They usually
try to pick an area of particular
interest. Subjects included vege
tables; quilting and needlework;
nuts, fruits, and berries; flowers;
art; crocheting and knitting; pho
tography; and crafts and ceram
ics.
Claudia Payne, retired from
the Maryland Cooperative Exten
sion and now a consultant,
opened the day.
“I’ve been reading reports and
watching the news and listening
to experts,” she said. “One of the
trends that we need to be aware
of is that families and individuals
will stay closer to home in 2002,
that they will attend places with
in a short drive from their home.
“2002 will be a banner year for
fairs. This is the time for you to
realize that you’re really on
track. You have a chance to plan
and make sure you do have a
banner year, that you take that
opportunity.”
Expect larger crowds, new ex
hibitors and increased and im
proved security, she said.
Payne also recommended add
ing educational demonstrations,
such as sewing machines, in the
exhibit area. In addition the
judging standards should be post
ed or leaflets for fair-goers to
take home and perhaps enter
next year.
Bonny Broadt, Bloomsburg,
taught the flowers course. “The
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hardest part is taking an exhibit
out of its class,” she said. Broadt
recommended that stewards and
assistants be well versed in the
flower classes to help enter the
exhibits in the correct class.
In addition helpers “are en
couraged to listen to the judge’s
comments,” she said. Stewards
will probably be standing by the
exhibit when the public comes to
the fair, so they can answer more
questions more intelligently if
they have listened to the judge.
Judges should first look for
contagious diseases, instincts, ar
tificial support t and artificial
flowers, she said. Also, recently
potted flowers may also be dis
qualified at fairs since they tend
to wilt quickly, “which makes the
overall show look bad,” she said.
One way to begin evaluations
is to first make sure the correct
number of flowers are present.
“Even nicer-looking flowers
will take second place to vases if
they don’t have the right amount
of flowers,” she said.
“A seed catalog is a wonderful
source to learn about flowers and
plants, what they should look
like,” she said.“ Use it as a refer
ence in your own mind it has
all the pictures of what is what,
and what each flower should
ideally look like,” she said.
Donald Jackson, Red Lion,
along with Tucker Hill and Jay
Book, instructed the fruits, nuts,
and berries class.
“As soon as you see a nut ma
ture and fall off the tree, pick it
up and take care of it to keep
anything on the ground from in
vading it,” he said. This also
keeps excess moisture from caus
ing mold on the nut.
As for fruits, Jackson said that
“to maintain high quality blue
berries, do a study on fertilizer
and pH needs,” he said. Entries
such as persimmons and pecans
may also begin showing up as
fair exhibits, since they can be
grown here,” he said.
Displays should be education
al, said Jay Book, Elizabethtown.
He used the example of a display
showcasing collecting, shelling,
and storing black walnuts that he
has exhibited at fairs.
An exhibit should have a title
and several points to keep the
public’s interest. “If we’re going
to have an educational exhibit be
educational, we have to be con
cise,” he said.
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Instructed the various segments of the annual Judges’ School were, from left, Tom
Burke, Allentown; Fay Fulmer, Nazareth; John Herbert, Gettysburg; Rainy Linn, Franklin;
Donald Jackson, Red Lion; George Perry, Virginville; Howard Hoch, Oley; Susan Hahn,
Pen Argyl; Jay Book, Elizabethtown; and Bonny Broadt, Bloomsburg.
Book also added that fruits
such as plums must be firm so
that they can be displayed for the
duration of the fair without be
coming unappetizing. Fruit
should have a consistent appear
ance and be without blemishes.
“One should look like the other,”
he said.
Leaders of the class advised
that judges crack the nuts to de
termine & there is mold inside the
nut.
In the quilting and needlework
class instructed by Rainy Linn,
Franklin, participants evaluated
stuffed animals, counted cross
stitch items, dolls, pillows, quilts,
and needlepoint.
They evaluated creativity, as in
using printed on, rather than cre
ated, quilt patterns, in their final
placings.
Fay Fulmer, Nazareth, instruc
tor of the crocheting and knitting
session, taught the participants of
the class to make sure the gar
ment is clean before judging be
gins. This may not only show the
exhibitor’s standard of excellence
but may also be a clue as to the
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true age of the exhibit.
Also, machine knit items
should be judged separately from
hand knit items, said Fulmer.
“Make sure the seams are as
flat as possible. Make sure there
are no knots showing,” she said.
In addition, an exhibit that is
blocked, or carefully laid flat and
stretched to dry, should take
precedence in placings. “You’ll
know it when you see it by the
way it lays,” she said.
In sewn items, bands should be
elastic and go back. “One thing
that I’m a stickler for is colors,”
she said. “If you have two af
ghans and they’re both done very
well, go with the one with colors
that are a little more pleasing.”
Susan Hahn, Pen Argyl, was
the instructor of the crafts and
ceramics class.
The first consideration in the
construction of any article is
function, according to Hahn.
What any object will be used for
is the determining factor as the
artist selects materials and decid
es on shape and color.
For example, decorations need
to be in scale or proportion to the
objects they decorate. Also, color
should coordinate with the de
sign.
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In addition, all parts of a de
sign should not be of equal inter
est but draw the eye to a high
light. Hahn’s judging sheet
included a checklist of: good use
of design elements, creative use
of material, materials appropri
ate for intended use, quality of
workmanship, and degree of dif
ficulty.
Tom Burke, Allentown, em
phasized clarity, focal point, and
emotional contact with the pic
tures in the art session.
Since the pieces will be dis
played to the fair-goers, judges
should keep in mind also the
public’s perception in placing the
pictures, he said.
“It should be a celebration of
people, really, something they
can look at, enjoy, empathize
with, and relate to.”
A published photograph
should not be the subject of a
painting, said Burke.
“When you are looking at art
work, there is a formal language
involved. Does this set you on a
journey? Does it have a starting
and an ending point? Does it
make you eye go to one place?
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