Arkansas State Fair: Blue Ribbons
By: Suzanne Burnette, KARK 4 News Web Editor
Updated: October 18, 2011
While the ride-filled midway may provide most of the excitement at the Arkansas State Fair, there's
much more to see and do in other areas of the fairgrounds.
One of those locations is the Arts & Crafts Building.
It's the perfect place to visit if you need to take a break from the midway and food stands, or just
want to cool off from the afternoon sun.
As visitors step inside, they're greeted by blue ribbon covered walls filled with winners of various
writing contests. There's everything from children's crayon-covered work, to handwritten entries and neatly typed ones.
One that caught our eye reminds the reader of the large role that farmers play at the fair, since the
livestock show is a very big part of the event.
Jenna Martin's short story "My Life on the Farm" hangs on the wall with a Best in Show blue ribbon
pinned to it. Martin writes about her first time driving a tractor on her family's farm where they
grow corn, rice, soybeans, sorghum, and milo.
Martin also won another Best in Show blue ribbon for a poem with the same title as her short story.
The poem begins like this:
"From when the rooster crows till nightfall,
The American farmer is steadily at work
The poem ends with lines that remind people that without hard-working farmers, there would be no
products in grocery stores. [See photos of Jenna's entries in the slideshow on this page].
The Arts & Crafts Building also holds display cases filled with everything from hand-sewn items and small craft projects to canned vegetables, jams and jellies. You'll also see huge quilts hanging from the ceiling. Two that bear a Best in Show blue ribbon include a hand quilted entry by Bernice Schmitt called "State Flowers in Frame," and a machine quilted entry by Yvonne Ostrander called "Blue and Green Applique." [See photos of these entries and others in the slideshow on this page].
On the afternoon of the fair's opening day, some of the best pie bakers in Arkansas were on hand for a crust-making competition. The judges looked over the mouth-watering entries that promised to be as tasty as they were beautiful. Some of them had rich fillings, one was lined with raspberries all around, and another had a perfectly-browned meringue. [See photos of these entries and others in the slideshow on this page].
During the last days of this year's fair, the Arts & Crafts Building will hold a homebrew competition
for beers and wines. That event is October 21 - 23.
much more to see and do in other areas of the fairgrounds.
One of those locations is the Arts & Crafts Building.
It's the perfect place to visit if you need to take a break from the midway and food stands, or just
want to cool off from the afternoon sun.
As visitors step inside, they're greeted by blue ribbon covered walls filled with winners of various
writing contests. There's everything from children's crayon-covered work, to handwritten entries and neatly typed ones.
One that caught our eye reminds the reader of the large role that farmers play at the fair, since the
livestock show is a very big part of the event.
Jenna Martin's short story "My Life on the Farm" hangs on the wall with a Best in Show blue ribbon
pinned to it. Martin writes about her first time driving a tractor on her family's farm where they
grow corn, rice, soybeans, sorghum, and milo.
Martin also won another Best in Show blue ribbon for a poem with the same title as her short story.
The poem begins like this:
"From when the rooster crows till nightfall,
The American farmer is steadily at work
The poem ends with lines that remind people that without hard-working farmers, there would be no
products in grocery stores. [See photos of Jenna's entries in the slideshow on this page].
The Arts & Crafts Building also holds display cases filled with everything from hand-sewn items and small craft projects to canned vegetables, jams and jellies. You'll also see huge quilts hanging from the ceiling. Two that bear a Best in Show blue ribbon include a hand quilted entry by Bernice Schmitt called "State Flowers in Frame," and a machine quilted entry by Yvonne Ostrander called "Blue and Green Applique." [See photos of these entries and others in the slideshow on this page].
On the afternoon of the fair's opening day, some of the best pie bakers in Arkansas were on hand for a crust-making competition. The judges looked over the mouth-watering entries that promised to be as tasty as they were beautiful. Some of them had rich fillings, one was lined with raspberries all around, and another had a perfectly-browned meringue. [See photos of these entries and others in the slideshow on this page].
During the last days of this year's fair, the Arts & Crafts Building will hold a homebrew competition
for beers and wines. That event is October 21 - 23.
