The 2011 Fair Theme is "Texas Pride...Medina County Wide"
Rules & Guidelines
Printable Guidelines

Friday, September 16

Categories: Vegetables, Fruits, Pickles, Relishes, Preserves, Jams and Jellies and Miscellaneous. All canned foods must be in standard canning jars (mayonnaise jars, etc. will not be accepted). Rings or rims must be left on jars. Jars with rusted rings or that are not sealed will not be judged. Paraffin seal on jellies, etc. will not be accepted.

Special Awards: Alltrista Corporation (Makers of Ball^® and Kerr^® Home Canning Products) offers special awards for both youth and adult entries in the following categories: Fruits, Vegetables, Pickled Foods, and Soft Spreads. Winners will be posted on their website www.Freshpreserving.com.To be eligible your entry must be canned in Ball^® jars and sealed with Ball^® two-piece vacuum caps or canned in Kerr^® jars and sealed with Kerr^® two-piece vacuum caps.

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Only clean and undamaged articles are accepted. All articles must be on a hanger, and will be judged for construction and general appearance.

Categories:

Traditional Construction: Blouses, shirts, dresses, skirts, pants, suits, children's clothes, formal dresses, etc.

Creative Construction: These items are created entirely by the exhibitor but special creative techniques are used in the design of the garment (appliqué, Seminole, pieced, smocked, blooming vest, embroidered, etc).

Embellished Purchased Clothing: Purchased clothing that has been decorated or painted.

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Baskets, Metal, Wood, Seasonal Items, Ceramics-hand formed, Ceramics-pre-formed, Jewelry, Wreaths, Folk art crafts (decoupage, tole painting, stenciling), Artificial flower arrangements, Miscellaneous.

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The Hondo Art League will be in charge of the area for the paintings as in the past. You do not have to be a member of the Art League to enter. Exhibitors must be at least 18 years old to enter (younger exhibitors may enter the School Arts Division). Exhibitors may exhibit works of art in any of the following categories, and are limited to a total of 2 (two) works of art: Oils, Watercolor, Acrylics, Dry Media (charcoal, pencil, graphite, pastels, pen & ink, prismapencil) Mixed Media (collage, etc.), and Printmaking lithograph, dry point etching, wood block, etc.). Entries must be the original work of the artist and completed since January 1, 2010. Entries must not have been entered previously in the Medina County Fair. Due to space limitations, works of art must be a maximum of 9 square feet, including the frame. Entries must be suitably framed and ready for hanging. Entries must be stable; paint must be dry. Entries may be disallowed at the discretion of the Art League. Every effort is made to secure the exhibits, but the Hondo Art League is not responsible for any loss or damage to articles while on grounds.

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Furniture for any room in the house, shop, office, etc. may be entered.

Enter as many items as you wish in the different categories. Any material Plastic, Glass, Wood, Metal, etc. may be used exclusive or in combination with another. Exhibitor is responsible for transport of furniture.

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Categories include: Appliqué, Embroidery, Collars, Knitted, Crocheting, Needlepoint, Cross-Stitch, Knitted Clothing, Pieced, Tatting and Miscellaneous. Framed articles should be complete with a picture hook or wire and ready to hang.

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General Guidelines: Prints must be mounted for display purposes on a mat board, poster board, or similar material that measures no more than ½ inch larger on each side than the actual photograph. For example an 8" X 10" photograph would be mounted on a board no larger than 9" x 11". Prints smaller that 5" X 7" will be judged in the snapshot category. Snapshots must also be mounted according to the guidelines described above for mounting large prints.

Color: Flowers, pets, wildlife, scenic, people, snapshots, action, miscellaneous

Black & White: Flowers, pets, wildlife, scenic, people, snapshots, action, miscellaneous

Digital Photography: Be creative with your digital photo by submitting some with graphic enhancements.

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Please note that Quilt Guidelines have changed.

A Best of Category will be awarded in each of the categories listed below.
From the Best of Categories one (1) Best of Show will be awarded.

Quilts no longer require a sleeve be attached for hanging.

The following information is required for all quilts entered:

1. Name of person that made the quilt

2. Name of the person that quilted the quilt

3. Size of the quilt

Pre-printed fabric (cheater cloth or panel) quilts will not be judged, however they can be entered for Display Only.
EXCEPTION: If pre-printed fabric is cut and mixed with pieced, appliquéd, or embroidery it will be accepted for judging in the applicable category.

Definitions:

Large quilt: Must be at least 87 on the longest side, not less than 63 on shortest side.

Small quilt: Must be less than 87 on the longest side.

Pieced: Quilts that are over 50% pieced in the construction of the quilt.

Appliquéd: Quilts that are over 50% appliquéd in the construction of the quilt.

Embroidery: Quilts that are over 50% embroidered in the construction of the quilt.

Specialty: Yo-yos, cathedral windows, fringed quilts, crazy quilts

Art: Include People, Portraits, Naturescapes, Pictorial, Whimsical, Stained Glass, etc.

Group quilts: Quilts that are made by 2 or more people. Names of all the people in the group must be included on the entry tag.

Professionally quilted: The quilt top has been made by one person and the quilt was quilted by a professional on a long arm quilting machine. The name of the person who made the quilt and the name of the professional quilter must be included on the entry tag.

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Blocks must not measure more than 20 inches square. Material must be cotton or cotton/polyester blend (no wool, silk, or double knit). Blocks must be un-quilted – only one thickness. A $1.00 entry fee will be charged per entry and cash prizes will be awarded to winners.

More than one block can be entered. Pieced, Appliquéd, Embroidered, Combination or Paper foundation will be accepted. Appliquéd and embroidery may be done either by hand or machine.

This is a contest where exhibitors can show their creativity. There will be awards for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place, with the cash prizes divided among the top three winners.

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Entrants 18 years and under will compete in the youth department.

Divisions include: Canned Foods, Clothing, Crafts, Fine Arts (drawings & paintings will go to school art division), Floral, Furniture, Horticulture, Needlework, Photography (regular and digital), Quilts, Miscellaneous, Scrapbooking and Baked Foods. (Baked foods are entered and judged on Saturday). Youth photography entries will be judged in a separate division. All other divisions will be judged together for the Youth Best of Show and Honorable Mention awards. The Youth Photography Division will have a Best of Show and Honorable Mention Award. All adult guidelines for each division also apply to youth entries. Special awards are available for canned food entries. See rules under canned food section.

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The School Art Division may be entered through your school art teacher or individually brought up on Friday, September 16^th to the Fair Exhibit Hall before 11 a.m. This may be a class project or a special creation away from school. The School Art Division will be divided by grade with Pre-K through 5^th grade being judged together and 6^th through 12^th.

The categories include:

The fold-over entry form will be placed behind the lower right corner of the entry. It will be folded behind the lower right corner of the entry during judging and then moved to the front for displaying during the Fair.

The entry tags may be obtained from the art teacher, on the website at www.medinacountyfair.org/school_art_entry.pdf or at the Fair Hall when entering.  Entry may be matted with poster board or construction paper, but not framed. Size of entry should be no larger than 11” X 17”, matting included.

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Individual scrapbook pages should be submitted. An individual can submit more than one scrapbook page. Any size page can be submitted. Pages will be judged on creativity, theme and design. 

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Saturday, September 17

Baked foods are judged for taste, texture and presentation. This Division includes Yeast Bread, Quick Bread, Bread Machine Breads, Candies, Cakes, Pies, Cookies, Decorated Cakes and Miscellaneous.

Baked food show entries become the property of the Medina County Fair Association. Entire recipe must be attached to the entry. Each item must be entered on a sturdy disposable plate or container and will not be returned to the exhibitor. Place item in an appropriate sized plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap for protection.

Items that need refrigeration or spoil easily (cream pies, whipped cream, etc.) will not be accepted.

Baked Food Auction & Sale: The two Best of Show entries plus additional items (Honorable Mentions) will be sold to the public at auction. The Home Arts Chairperson and judges will select the auction items. All remaining entries are sold to the public in a bake sale at 2 pm. All proceeds will be used for scholarships. The exhibitors of the Best of Show and Honorable Mention items that are auctioned will receive a $10.00 premium. The auction is held Saturday, September 17, on the pavilion stage at 5 pm. Exhibitors are encouraged to attend.

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Table or Placement Arrangement: Fresh flowers and/or other suitable material. The arrangement will be judged on design, condition of material, color, harmony and suitability of material to container.

Cut Specimen: Single Blossom properly groomed in appropriate sized bottle.

Miniatures: 10” and under

* A description of the arrangement or name of the flower should be on the entry tag.

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Exhibitor must have owned plant for at least 3 months. Previous Fair entries cannot be re-entered in horticulture, but may be for display only. Exhibitors must water plants during Fair, if needed. Vegetable entries should be uniform in size and displayed on paper plates. Plants must be groomed and show quality.

Bonsai & Hanging Baskets: Blooming, succulent, fern, vine, foliage, multiple specimens, miscellaneous

Pot Plants: Blooming, fern, bromeliads, foliage, cacti, succulent, miscellaneous

Vegetables, Fruits & Nut Clusters: Number to be exhibited are indicated in parenthesis: Cucumbers(2), pumpkins (1), peaches (3), eggplant (2), figs (3), chili petine (6), okra (6 pods), pears (3), onions (3), peppers – large (3), peppers – small (6), miscellaneous.

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The President of the Medina County Fair Association gives this special rosette. The item entered in Home Arts that best portrays the theme “Texas Pride...Medina County Wide” will receive the award.

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Sunday, September 18

A Best of Show ribbon will be given for both Grape and for Non-Grape wines. Best in each category will receive Honorable Mention rosettes. Each contestant is allowed to enter up to two (2) wines in each category. Categories include: Mustang Dry; Mustang Sweet; Red Dinner Wine; White Wine; Fruit or Berry Wine Dry; Fruit or Berry Wine Sweet, Aperitif or Dessert wine; and Novelty Wine. (example: Onion, Dandelion, Cactus, etc)

Wine entry contestants must be at least 21 years of age. Entries will be in a standard glass wine bottle of at least 20 fluid ounces. Corks or screw caps are acceptable. If an entry needs to be served chilled, it is the responsibility of the contestant.

Labels on the bottles will not list the contestant's name. Labels must list the ingredients (for example Riesling grapes, strawberry, peaches, etc.) and the year made. Other information such as percent residual sugar, specific gravity, percent alcohol, etc. is optional. The contestant's name will be on the claim ticket.

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