I know it is almost fall, because I just saw the new handbook for the county fair. Each year when I see the handbook or start hearing about the county fair, I know that fall will soon be here and the long, hot days of summer are almost over.

The Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair will be held at the Robeson County Fairgrounds October 1 - 10. We have several cases of fair handbooks at the Extension Center. If you want one, please stop by and pick it up or give us a call, and we will mail you one. The fair handbook contains a complete fair schedule, information and entry forms for all events and contests, rules and premium lists for all exhibits, information about livestock shows, booth information, and much more. This handbook also contains the schedule for when items will be received at the fairgrounds for entry into the home exhibit categories.

The county fair is one of those events that I associate with fall. When the county fair arrives, the days have begun to get shorter and are not nearly as hot as what we deal with during the summer. The late afternoons and nights have that harvest season smell, and they feel so crisp and comfortable you want to make sure you have a light jacket close by.

One of the special categories for home exhibits at any county fair is handmade quilts. There are literally thousands of quilt makers across the United States, and just about every one of them looks forward to entering their favorite and most beautiful quilts in their local county fair. They know if they can win a blue ribbon, they have bragging rights at least for the coming year.

All quilts entered in the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair this year will be judged by Certified Quilt Judges. Laura Patridge from Advance, North Carolina, and Lisa Alley from Winston-Salem are completing the judging requirements that are required by the National Quilting Association. In order to maintain their certified status, they must judge a certain number of quilting contests or exhibits each year.

In past years all quilts, as well as all other home and livestock exhibits, have been judged before the fair officially opened to the public. This way all ribbons could be properly displayed on each item, so even those that go to the fair the very first day could see who won the blue, red, and white ribbons.

This year the quilt judging will take place Saturday afternoon, October 3, beginning at 1:00. A designated area will be provided in the Al Parnell Exhibit Hall for judging. Those visiting the fair will be able to watch the quilt judges at work and will be able to ask questions in order to learn more about the art of quilt making.

I don't think the judging of this contest will be as exciting as judging the cheerleading contest. But if you make homemade quilts for a hobby or if you just happen to be one of those who entered your quilt in the county fair, I bet you will be very interested in what the judges have to say.

Another special contest that will be taking place Saturday afternoon in the home exhibit building will be the amateur wine judging. Thanks to sponsor Al Locklear at Lumber River Trading Company, the Amateur Wine Exhibit and Competition has grown steadily, since it was first started in 2006.

The purpose of this contest is to give amateur winemakers in the region the opportunity to allow wine experts and certified judges to critique their wines. Feedback from the judges allows the winemakers to modify or improve their winemaking skills, so they can make a better product. This has worked well, because the quality of wines entered in the fair has increased drastically each year. Some of our local winemakers have entered their wines in the North Carolina State Fair, as well as other wine competitions in North Carolina and across the nation, and have received top honors in several classes.

All amateur winemakers in Robeson County and any county that adjoins Robeson are encouraged to enter their best wines in the county fair. Rules and classes can be found in the fair handbook and can also be found on the web at www.robesoncountyfair.com.

This is not a competitive contest in that the wines do not compete against each other. Each wine is judged on its own merits. Based on its flavor, color, clarity, bouquet, and overall presentation, each wine will receive either a blue, red, or white ribbon and appropriate prize money. The bottle and label is not judged. There are classes for muscadine and vinifera wines as well as red and white wines. There are also classes for special wines such as blueberry, strawberry, and other fruit wines.

The wine judging will also be held in the exhibit hall on Saturday afternoon and will start at 2:00. Those with wine entered in the fair will want to be on hand to get feedback from the judges about their wines. Others who are interested in amateur winemaking will want to watch the judging process and may want to get some pointers from the judges.

Get ready for the county fair. It will be here in one short month. Better still, get your stuff ready to enter in the county fair. It's always more fun to play than to just watch.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 8/26/09