Generally, I have found small-town life challenging. But sometimes there are some unique opportunities to be found in small farming communities. Today, the kids and I were able to take advantage of one of those opportunities. We entered a cake we made together in the parent/child division in the agricultural fair for the northern part of our county They enjoyed doing it, but I told them not to get their hopes up about winning. As it turned out, we won 1st place for our category and Grand Champion for the whole division. The cakes are auctioned off as a fundraiser for the ag fair after they are judged, and people pay exorbitant amounts for them. An elder from our church paid $120 for it! Amazing!
The kids are really excited with their $3.75 prize and their blue and purple ribbons. However, they don’t yet know that we will be getting a check for $100 for winning in the division.
One other note that is sort of interesting is that I have been a judge in the fair cake contest during the previous 2 years, so I know that a system of blind judging is used.
It has been suggested to me that I include a photo and the recipe for our prize-winning cake on my blog. I hope to do so in the next week or so.
Wow! I am thrilled for all of you and REALLY, REALLY, REALLY impressed. Can’t wait to see the photo and get the prize-winning recipe. BTW, Grandpa Renich was also very happy for you when I told him, and as an old farm boy, he was also impressed!
Congratulations! And please, do share!
Mmmm… Cake. Please share your blue ribbon recipe!
Growing up in rural PA, I was introduced to competing in the county fair at a young age. My mom and I entered all sorts of categories, from pickles and jam (mom) to flower arranging and even my Breyer horse collection. It was really fun to prepare for the fair each summer, win cash and ribbons and even get my name in the newspaper.
Living in a small town (Potlatch, ID. population 791) is an experience I’m glad I didn’t miss. Simple pleasures are abundant. Life, without the stress of traffic and crime, gets filled with cherry picking and laughter with neighbors. I enjoyed your post. I smiled right through it. Congrats. I’d sure like to see that recipe.
Laurel,
I used to enter breads and cakes in the Jefferson County fair in PA as a kid, too.
Lucy,
I wish I were as enamored with small-town life as you may be. But for now, I’ll take our little win as a positive experience I couldn’t have had in too many other places. (It was harder to win in the bigger rural area that I grew up in because there were more entries!)
Hurrah! Congratulations. It looks like a wonderful cake.