Alameda County Fair 2025

I love the county fair. 

Alameda County Fair (affiliate link)

I missed the fair last year since I was busy having cancer. It was wonderful to be able to return this year and enjoy our favorite fair time activities: the exhibits, the shows, the food, and time with family.  

Alameda County Fair, 2023

I've mentioned many times how much I love the county fair. Last month, Trevor and I met up with my sister and niece at the Alameda County Fair. 

 

Alameda County Fair (affiliate link)

We're not rides people and I don't go to the fair to shop. Our top two favorite fair activities are looking at exhibits and eating fair food. (I miss the days when Trevor was young enough to enter the kids' tablesetting competition!) I entered a dozen or so crafts in the fair this year, so it was fun seeing which of my entries placed. But it was even more fun seeing Allison's first-ever entry, a display of her keychain collection. As for fair food, we had gyros and Dole Whips, both amazing. All in all, it was a great day and I'm happy to have it documented in a scrapbook.

"Dear Entrants,...." - Part Four: Photo Tips for Digital Entries

The pandemic interrupted just about every facet of life to one degree or another. County fairs were no exception. Some canceled outright in 2020 and 2021, while others switched to a virtual fair, with exhibits displayed online. Most, if not all, fairs will be in person for Summer 2022. But that doesn't mean that fairs are operating the same way they did pre-pandemic. Many fairs are asking entrants to submit photos of their projects, rather than the item itself. The entries are judged virtually, then the prize-winning entries are collected and displayed for people to see in person. 

There are some major advantages to this system for entrants, fair staff, and judges, most of which involve saving time and money. But there are some major drawbacks, too. As a judge, it is really difficult to properly assess something via a snapshot. I recently judged paper crafts for a county fair and the overall quality of the photos people submitted to be judged was pretty bad.

I wish I could show you some of the photos that were submitted, just so you understand how terrible they were. To be fair, some of the photos were fine and a few were even good. But there were a few that make me question how its even possible to take such a poor-quality picture. I'm not a good photographer, but there are some basics that literally anyone can do to make a picture less terrible. 

To illustrate just how bad the worst of the photos was, I took this snapshot of the trendiest project I've ever made:

Honestly, as bad as this photo is, it's not as bad as the worst I had to judge because nothing is too blurry to see, there's no glare obstructing the project, and most of the project is visible. When a photo has all those sins and more, it's tempting to disqualify the whole thing. Really tempting.

I've written a series of posts in the past giving advice to fair entrants from their judge (things like, "Don't give your judge fleas.") My recent judging experience has led me to write another letter.

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Dear Entrants,

Thank you for submitting your project to the fair. As a crafter myself, I know the time and effort that goes into your creations. As a judge, it is my responsibility to do my best to honor that time and effort. Back in pre-pandemic days when I judged items in person, I would carefully inspect your project from all angles and assess the tiniest details to ensure the best project wins. This is much more difficult to do now that I am judging your project based on a single photograph. 

Since you took the time to enter, I assume you would like to win? If that is the case, I strongly recommend that the photo you submit actually shows your project in its best light. Or, for that matter, in any light. One of you entered a photo that was so dark I could hardly make out the project. Likewise, if there is a light casting a major glare on your project, perhaps you could move the project somewhere else before you take the photo? Photos taken in indirect, natural light are usually best. 

It seems obvious to me, but apparently it needs to be mentioned: if you want me to judge your whole project, your whole project should be in the photo. If you're entering a scrapbook layout, but I can only see 60% of the page because you've zoomed in too far, I'm going to struggle judging it. And while your whole project should be in the photo, your whole room should not. Don't set your layout on the couch and then move to the other side of the room to photograph it. The picture is supposed to be of the layout, not of the couch. (You've done a lovely job decorating the living room, by the way!) 

A plain background does wonders to highlight your project. An empty tabletop or even the floor make acceptable backgrounds. I like to set a sheet of plain posterboard down and photograph my projects on that. Contrast is helpful. If your project is black or another dark color, photograph it on a light countertop or tablecloth, or on white posterboard. Do the reverse if your project is a light color. 

If your photograph is blurry, try taking another one. Isn't it nice to be in the digital era when we can take as many photos as we want and we know instantly if they are any good? Take advantage of that and don't just submit the first photo you take. I frequently take ten or more photos of my projects in order to get one I like. 

I want to say how much I appreciate those of you who took the time to make my job easier. One of you photographed your entry next to a coin to give me a sense of scale. That was very helpful!   

Pictures can be worth a thousand words, so when you submit a digital entry to the fair, think what words you want your picture to convey. Take the time to ask yourself what a judge will see in your photo. You've spent a lot of time creating a beautiful project and we want to see it and judge it fairly. 

I can't wait to see what you enter next year!

Sincerely,
Your Judge

Finding Craft Inspiration at the County Fair

Our family loves the county fair! One of my favorite things about the fair (besides the food) is seeing all the creative craft entries. I get so much inspiration looking at what others have made and entered. Today I thought I'd share some snapshots of strangers' projects I've admired at county fairs.

When a whole class or other large group all enter the same project, it is a nightmare to judge and a nuisance to display. But boy, are they striking when done right! I was admiring this collection of flowers from across the room. I really love this simple project made from a cardboard tube. I think the flower is from an egg carton cup, with a pom pom in the center. I did a quick search and wasn't able to find a tutorial for this online, so I might play around with it and write one myself. 

Here's another project that caught my eye from a distance. It's big - each of the eight panels is about 12" x 16". It's another group project, though I'm not sure whether each panel was done by one person or many. I'm super impressed with the amount of detail they got in this mosaic. That's not easy. I'm eager to try this, though on a much smaller scale.

This two-by-four turkey is cute, simple, and fun. A quick search reveals that a lot of people have made a project like this. Most credit Craft Goodies with the original idea. If I ever make my own version, I'm going to use washi tape on the tail feathers. 

This is a clever recycling project. I spy a can, bottle caps, nuts and a bolt, a plastic lid, a pop top from a soda can, and I'm not sure what that wire around the eye is. Regardless, it's super clever. 

I like this Pac-Man craft. (Remember my two Pac-Man crafts? I love them.) This craft would be fun as a flannel board activity where you can create your own maze, then move the characters through it. 

I've seen this handprint and footprint perspective project around a lot but have never tried it. I should. There are so many directions you can go with this. 

I love seeing what people do with quilling. There's only one quilled shape in this parrot craft, the tight coil. The design comes from grouping them together and using different colors. I totally want to try this. 

Beast, Belle, and the peacock are all sculpted from nothing but pipe cleaners. That's a lot of talent there. I'm impressed. 

I'm quite fond of these Batman and Robin paper bag puppets. I'm thinking you make these, add some villains, and then put sound effects on sticks (BAM! WHACK! KAPOW!) and you've got yourself the potential for one heck of a puppet show. 

Tons of items on display, but my eye goes right to that friendly lion. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the mane is sparkly gold pipe cleaners. 

It looks like a burger, but it is a painted rock. How cool is that? And where on earth did Carlin find such a perfectly smooth and round rock? I want to paint a hamburger rock!

I want to decorate all my egg cartons like this...

Here's another group project. Students brought in plastic lids and turned them into this gigantic mural. As cool as it is, I don't think I'll be making anything like this. I already save way too many items that most people would consider trash. (But on the plus side, I never need to wait for a cardboard tube, bottle cap, cork, etc. when inspiration strikes!)

I love these dinosaurs and want to make one stat. I have no idea how they make theirs, but I would cut a dinosaur stencil and put it on black paper, add a coat of spray adhesive, pour on colored sand, remove the stencil, then cut construction paper bones to fill in the black space. And then I'd use a spray sealant over the whole thing because I hate sand. 

What do you think? Do any of these projects inspired you?

Fair Food: NSD 3-Hour Sketch Challenge

This layout is another National Scrapbook Day sketch challenge:

Fair Food (affiliate link)

This was a 3-hour challenge. Participants had to make a layout based on this sketch... 

... BUT not as is. I flipped the sketch, used one photo instead of two, added a bunch of journaling in the lower photo position, removed some layers, and changed the shape of the text box. I thought the papers worked well with the rainbow of colors in our self-serve shaved ices. By the way, we're obsessed with those and a bunch of other fair foods. Everything in moderation, right? Right.

Solano County Fair, 2017

Last week, we went to our county fair. Because of camps, trips to Nebraska/Iowa, Nevada, and Oregon (which I'll share about soon), and other summertime fun, it was the only fair our family attended this year. That's a first for us. We usually attend at least two, and often three. We love the fair. 

Another first - Trevor entered items in only one county fair. Steve and I didn't enter at all. I did serve as a judge, but delivery dates (and restrictions on what I can enter) didn't work out for me to enter anything this year. 

As we were viewing Trevor's entries, it struck me how many of his prize-winning projects were inspired by Little Passports! In the picture below, you can see Trevor's Amish buggy art (Ohio), his bunny topiary (Rhode Island), his salt dough adobe (New Mexico), and his bolo tie (Arizona). You can also see the explorer ship that I taught to his 5th class. Five first place entries in a single display (there were others elsewhere), all because of our love of US history and geography. Pretty cool. 

Trevor should have another batch of crafts inspired by Little Passports to enter next year. Hopefully Steve and I will have some things to enter too. The fair is fun no matter what, but there's little that beats the excitement of finding your entry and seeing a ribbon. 

County Fairs, 2016

Another fair season has come and gone and it was another successful year for the deRosiers. Well, for Trevor, that is!

Between our Utah and Alaska trips, various camps, and everything else we've done this summer, we were gone during the delivery dates for baked goods for both of the fairs we enter. We couldn't make the delivery date of non-perishables for one of the two fairs. Steve opted not to enter anything. Because of the usual limitations wherein I can't enter anything I'm actually good at making, I entered the only jewelry I made this year, a pair of beaded earrings. Inexplicably, I haven't shared them on the blog. I like them, but they're really simple and did not place. So no fair ribbons for Steve nor for me this year. Fortunately, Trevor made up for our shortfall.

Trevor aged out of the tablesetting contest that he's done for years, so he decided to choose from amongst the other live competitions. The first was a robotics competition. He wrote a simple program for his kit robot, Sparki and presented it in front of the judges and fairgoers. He did very well and earned 1st place for his age group and category! This might seem less impressive when I tell you that he was the only contestant in his age group and category, but the low number of contestants probably reflects that fact that most 10 year olds are not into voluntarily doing programming and public speaking. 

The other competition he entered at that fair was a cell phone photography contest. There were 20 kids in that competition, divided fairly equally in two age groups. The kids were given a list of prompts. They had one hour to take 10 pictures based on the prompts and upload them to Instagram. The judges graded each photo on subject, composition, originality and impact. Parents were allowed to trail behind their kids as they ran around the fairgrounds, but could not assist in any way. 

Trevor had literally never taken a cell phone photograph until 10 minutes before the contest started. He learned how to upload to Instagram at the same time. Fortunately, he learns quickly and is very comfortable with technology. He spent the first 30 minutes photographing lots of different things that could fit the prompt, then used the next 30 minutes to edit and upload. 

After the hour was up, it took awhile for the judges to tabulate the scores. Trevor and his cousin, Timothy, passed the time by liking each other's photos on Instagram and stalking how many other people were liking their photos. 

We were shocked when Trevor won first place in his age division! We were even more shocked to learn that he was third overall of the 20 kids from ages 9-17! Good job, Trevor!

Trevor entered 27 of his crafts in our local county fair and did very well. Here you can see blue ribbons for his Peekaboo Garden, functional Paper Ferris Wheel, and Hot Cocoa Art. 

 

Here are firsts for his Bunny Finger Puppet and Super Scout.

Grandma taught Trevor about canning, so he entered preserved food for the first time. His pomegranate jelly earned a first place. 

 

I'll share one last item with you. This is a monogram that Trevor decorated with washi tape and Sharpies. 

Tomorrow I'll show you how I decorated my monogram with washi tape and a silk flower.

NSD Wrap-Up: Washi Tape Challenge

I made this layout about our 2015 fair visits for the "Show Us Your Washi" National Scrapbook Day challenge at Scrapbook.com. How many different uses of washi do you see? 

 

There are three. I used a glittery blue washi tape to create a border, wrapped a strip of red/white striped washi around the title and journaling cards, and punched stars from white cardstock that I'd covered with gold polka dot washi.

Incidentally, the title? Of the four letters in the word fair, the only letter sticker I had left on the sheet was the a. The f is an upside-down j, the r is cut down from a k, and the i is the rest of the k plus the dot from the j.

Any of you entering in your county fair? Trevor and I are filling out the last of our entry forms and paying entry fees this week! Can't wait for the fair(s)!

Fair Wrap-Up

County fair season has come and gone, so it's time for my annual fair wrap-up! 

I'll start with Trevor. He entered 55 craft projects, 10 fine arts projects, his Pinewood Derby car, a tablesetting contest and a collection in two different fairs. Some of his entries were judged Danish, where each person is compared to a rubric and, in theory, everyone (or no one) could get 1st place. Other entries were judged American, where there is one 1st, one 2nd, and one 3rd place winner. He did very, very well.

Rather than show his many projects I've already shared here, I'll show two of the projects he made at school. Blue ribbons for both.

In all, Trevor got a Judge's Favorite for his Pinewood Derby car, 1st place in the live tablesetting contest and 1st for his collection. His remaining sixty-five items earned forty-three 1st place ribbons, seven 2nd place, and one 3rd. He earned just under $200 in premium money, in addition to the free fair tickets for entering.

Like Trevor, I entered items in two different fairs. Because I'm a fair judge, I'm very limited in what I can enter. Obviously, I can't enter categories I judge, so I usually stick with baked goods. This year, I wasn't able to enter baked goods at one fair because we were in Idaho during the delivery window. I entered a handful of craft projects that were far outside my judging areas (like the shoebox float, for example), along with the Follow That Recipe Contest, and a collection. All of my entries were judged American. 

I did OK, earning a few 1st place ribbons, a handful of 2nds and a 3rd. Here's my self-portrait. It placed 2nd in its category. I was happy with that. 

I earned significantly less money than Trevor did, but it was still a nice bit of pocket change. It probably covered all the tasty fair food we enjoyed during our multiple visits! 

As much as I love finding the items we entered at the fair, I love seeing what others have entered just as much. There is so much talent and creativity out there. As a judge, I get to see a small fraction of what is entered, so I try to take in as much of the rest as possible when I return as a fairgoer. I take a lot of photos and carry a notebook in case inspiration strikes. Often, Trevor and I see a project that we want to try together. A good example would be the Handprint Campfire that we made during Project CAT.

To wrap up the 2015 fair season, I'm going to share my favorite projects from each of the two fairs I visited. First up is this collection. Can you tell what it is?

 

It's a rock collection! I thought this was so incredibly clever. The dinner roll! The butter! The peas and carrots! The wine! It's simply adorable and so creative. Notice that it received a 2nd place and a Judge's Favorite. That baffles people sometimes. How can something be the judge's favorite if something else scored higher? Easily. The scoring is based on strict percentages and something that is more complete, made more perfectly, or (in the case of a collection) more informative will score higher, even if the judge actually prefers something else. 

These pigs were my favorite thing at the other fair. Aren't they so cute? And so clever! I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen a baby bathtub used as a craft item. Bravo!

The deRosiers are already looking forward to the 2016 county fair season!

Entering a Collection, Year 2

Last summer, I entered a collection in the county fair for the first time. I was very annoyed when the display case I was assigned did not match the published dimensions AT ALL and my carefully-arranged collection did not fit. Trevor had the same problem with his collection. (Go here for details about what we entered and why it didn't fit and here for how we did.)

Sure enough, when the entry guidebook came out, the dimensions listed were the same as the year before. Did this mean that they had cases that actually matched those dimensions, or that they hadn't changed the printed dimensions to match reality like they promised they'd do last year? I had my suspicions that it was the latter, but didn't want to risk cutting a base to the wrong size again. Grrr.

The collection cases were (allegedly) 1' x 3', 2' x 3' and 3' x 3'. Trevor wanted to do a 2' x 3' display of University of California Davis items he'd collected, mostly at Picnic Day. I helped him tape a 2' x 3' rectangle on his bedroom floor and he carefully arranged his items in the space. 

I taped out a 1' x 3' rectangle near the craft table to hold some of my most unique Disneyland souvenirs. 

When we went to set up our displays, guess what? They didn't fit! Sigh. It's a long story involving a few cases that actually were the advertised space but were 'reserved' for others to use, despite us being there at the earliest possible time for first-come-first-served pick of cases. We both ended up making due with the longer and narrower than advertised cases we'd used last year. Grr again.

I wasn't allowed in the kids' area to photograph Trevor's, but I did snap a few photos of how mine turned out. The lighting was terrible and I couldn't back up any farther, but this gives you the idea. Compare it to how I'd planned the display in the picture above. 

I didn't cut my base fabric ahead of time in anticipation of having an unknown size, but that meant I had to cut on the fly without proper space or materials. I covered the rough edges with washi tape.

Here are each of the journaling cards I made. This is about my Dream Fastpass from 2008.

This button is from the Inaugural Voyage of the Nemo version of the submarine ride in 2007.

This is about the Disney name artwork I made.

This is about the gold 50th anniversary Mickey ears that I got for not-yet-born Trevor in 2005.

I'll let you know how both of our collections do in a few weeks.

"Dear Entrants, ..." - Part Three

I recently did two days of judging at a nearby county fair, as I have done for many years. This year, I judged almost exclusively paper crafts, including scrapbook pages, cards, mini albums, quilling, and more. It was equal parts fun, difficult and exhausting.

Odd things often happen to me when I judge. Last year's... um... infestation... was, well, memorable. This year, a stranger who was judging something completely different than me in a different building came right up to me, her face inches from mine, and demanded to know, "Are you the gourd judge?!" I was unsure how to answer, as I was not exactly clear on what she was talking about. She took my confused silence as a negative, issuing the parting comment, "Let me know if you find out who the gourd judge is!" Um... sure. Will do. I never learned who the gourd judge was or what business this other judge had related to gourds.

In 2013, after completing my judging I felt compelled to write an open letter to fair contestants. You can read that here. I wrote another letter last year, which is here. Today I'm sharing "Dear Entrants,..." Part Three.

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Dear Entrants,

Thank you so much for entering your projects in the county fair! I appreciate that all of you have taken the time and made the effort to share your creations with us. It's your support that has kept our fair thriving for generations.

Judging at the fair is hard work. I do it because I love fairs, enjoy seeing the many talents in our area, and like using my expertise to ensure that your efforts are judged fairly and honestly. (Of course, I never turn down the money or the free lunch either!) I've been judging for many, many years and this was the most difficult year by far. Why? Well, imagine looking at 12 beautiful apples, that all look perfect at first glance, with the task of accurately identifying the three very best. I might not think Golden Delicious is as inherently pretty or tasty as Fuji, but does that mean that a perfect Golden Delicious should always lose to a Fuji? Of course not. Instead, I have to find the tiniest flaw that makes one objectively better in some way than another. It's not easy.

Entrants, your projects were like the seemingly-perfect apples. I had to put aside my personal taste and look for the tiniest details (perfectly straight cuts, pristine projects, not a trace of visible adhesive, etc) in order to rank your projects. There weren't any rotten apples in the bunch that I could immediately rule out. No- I was blown away by the quality of the entries this year. You've outdone yourselves in terms of creativity, workmanship and attention to detail.

You listened to what your judge told you last year. Not one of you turned in a sticky project. Nothing was infested (*shudder*). Glue gun strings were practically non-existent. No one submitted an offensive or inappropriate project. Thank you. Even though you made my job harder, I greatly appreciate it.

I can't wait to see what you submit next year!

Sincerely,
Your Judge

Follow That Recipe... Part 2

Two weeks ago, I shared my first drafts for a "Follow That Recipe" contest I was entering. Here is the recipe we were to follow:

Both of my first drafts were well-received (equally so, frustratingly) so I was on my own to tinker and come up with a winner. The area that needed the most help was the cracker/cookie crumb layer. My biggest problem was that there wasn't nearly enough crumb to fill the entire bottom of a 9" x 13" pan. But, since I had to follow the recipe exactly, that was out of my control. I ended up heaping the crust evenly within a 7" x 11"ish area, knowing that I could serve the judges bar cookies from the center of the pan and not the edges. I would up the crumbs to at least 2 cups for any future, non-contest baking.

Besides there not being enough of the crumb layer, it came out pretty greasy in my trials. A stick of melted butter is WAY more than is needed for 1.5 cups of crumbs. Since I couldn't change the quantity of crumbs or butter, I decided to change up the type of crumbs I used, For my first batch I'd used shortbread cookies and vanilla wafers for my second batch. Both were tasty, but too high in fat to work well with that much butter. I guessed that the chef who wrote the recipe had graham crackers in mind instead of cookies, so I headed back to the store. Sure enough- graham crackers had less than half the fat as the same volume of vanilla wafers, which in turn had much less fat than the shortbread. Excellent!

I whipped up a final batch of cookies with chocolate graham crackers as the crust, semi-sweet chocolate chips, equal parts dried cranberries and cherries, pecans, and unsweetened, shredded coconut. I cut 7 generously-sized bars from the middle and plated them for the judges.

There were 16 competitors, with cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The judging was live, so we watched as the two judges tasted each entry while the clerk read the ingredient choices each contestant had made. That was very interesting. The cookie/cracker choices were very diverse: everything from vanilla wafers to gingersnaps to chocolate chip cookies to shortbread. The chocolate choices were about 50/50 milk vs. semi-sweet, with one or two contestants who used white chocolate. Almonds were the most popular nut, though peanuts, pecans, macadamias, walnuts, pistachios and cashews were all represented. More than half of us used dried cherries as the fruit, although I was the only one to add cranberries too. Others used dried pineapple, apricots, raisins, oranges, and mangoes (which, apparently, is the preferred plural of mango).

After they'd tasted each bar, the judges conferred and began announcing winners. Third place... not me. Second place... not me. First place... also not me. Drat. At that point, they invited all the contestants forward for individual comments and critique. I learned that my cookies took 4th. They didn't have any constructive criticism; everything about my cookies was good, but they were just a hair less interesting or creative than the ones that placed higher. I listened to the 1st place contestant's review. They liked her flavor combinations, of course, but also that the items were chunky enough to clearly identify individual flavors. She offered me one of her winning cookies, which I happily accepted. It had a graham cracker crust, large dried cherries, white chocolate and large slivered almonds. It was delicious. 

The judges had each prepared their own version of the recipe to show how they would have interpreted it. Their intention had been to pass out samples, but state law forbid them from doing so, which was a major bummer. But we did get to look at each and hear what each judge did. The first thing we noticed with the first judge's cookies were that they had been baked in a square pan and not the rectangular one required by the instructions. Consequently, she had a nice, thick crumb layer. We immediately jumped on that, asking if changing the pan size would have been OK. The judges said yes, though the written instructions we all received said to follow the recipe exactly. We also noted the whole walnuts, while the recipe specified chopped nuts. 

The judges were emphatic that they would have liked to see us 'play with the recipe a little' and not be so literal in following the instructions. None of us did because the entry form said to follow the recipe exactly. The judges said they will write the instructions differently for next year, because they do want to see creativity. As an example, the second judge showed his version of the cookies, which were garnished with whole pieces of the chopped fruits in the bars. 

This contest was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to playing along next year.