Celebrating green thumbs, crafty creations at the Fair
Lisa Timpf
Advocate Contributor
How tall can a corn stalk grow? How big can a pumpkin get?
Answers to these and other questions were available for viewing at the agricultural displays under the grandstand during the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show, Oct. 6-12.
One of the stars of the show, as usual, were the giant pumpkins and squashes. This year’s champion giant pumpkin, entered by John Butler, weighed in at 1,485 pounds. Butler’s top pumpkin edged out the second-place entrant, a 1,483-pound behemoth grown by Dave McQuay. McQuay’s pumpkin was the contest’s largest pumpkin grown in Norfolk County.
Butler also won the largest squash competition, with his winning entry tipping the scales at 1,084 pounds.
Arthur Johnston had the second-biggest squash, but took first place in the tallest sunflower category. His winning entry was 20-feet nine-inches tall. Butler had the tallest corn stalk at 19-feet one-inch.
The agricultural product displays under the grandstand featured other competitions as well, including some judging the appearance of squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and other vegetables, as well as field crops like hay and corn. Collections of garden vegetables, cut and potted flowers, decorated pumpkins, and other items were also on display.
Crafts and creative arts, both traditional and more modern, were the focus of the displays in the Homecrafts building at the north end of the fairgrounds. Woodworking, Christmas tree ornaments, scrapbooking, jewellery, rock painting, stained glass, handmade toys, needlecrafts, and visual art are just a sample of the items entered in the various categories.
In the culinary arts competitions, banana loaf, zucchini relish, decorated cookies, breads, jams, and even nutritious treats for dogs were among the items entered.
Displays set up by 4-H groups provided background on everything from 4-H canning and homesteading clubs to 4-H Lego clubs. Several local Senior’s and Retirement homes like Dover Cliffs, Cedarwood Village, and Maple Lodge Retirement Home entered displays as well.
Just as the giant pumpkins were one of the main attractions in the agricultural competitions, the quilts drew a lot of interest in the homecrafts section. Some of the winning quilts were arrayed along the north wall, with additional entries hanging in various locations throughout the top floor of the Homecrafts building.
The Grand Champion Machine Quilted quilt was entered by Sheila Stewart, while the Reserve Grand Champion Machine Quilted entry came from Teri Lynn Blizman.
Joan Malcolm’s entry got the nod for the best Heritage Quilt, while Marilyn Armstrong earned top prize in the My Favourite Quilt category.
Theresa Holmes, one of the volunteer judges, was on hand to answer questions on Wednesday during the fair. She estimates that around 70 quilts were entered in this year’s event.
Holmes notes that entries in the needlework and quilting divisions slowed down after Covid, but are picking back up. She estimates that around 90 per cent of the quilt entries come from members of one of the local quilting guilds, though some entrants are not affiliated with a quilting guild.
Those who, after wandering through this year’s displays, are inspired to try their hand at quilting an entry for next year have a number of avenues for learning more about the craft.
Holmes suggests that would-be quilters check out quilting classes, which are sometimes offered by quilting stores, or join one of the local quilting guilds. The Twilight Quilter’s Guild of Norfolk County, she says, met online during Covid and has stayed online since. The online format allows them to host professional quilters from other locales online.
The Norfolk County Quilter’s Guild meets on the first Tuesday of every month at the Vittoria Community Centre, and charges a small fee for those who wish to attend meetings as a guest.
The Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show, Holmes adds, is one of the most progressive in terms of number of categories offered, with over 20 classes in the quilting competitions.
Over in the Junior Farmers’ Building, entries in the photography competitions were on display. Categories included farming and agriculture, nature, people, waterscapes, open, and creative categories, with both black and white and colour photographs entered.
The Harold I. Pond Award for Best Colour or Black and White Print went to Mark Ridpath, for “Arthur’s Seat.” The title of Best Colour Print was awarded to Annette Jewell, for her photo “Hidden Face.”
Deirdre Tyrrell’s “Streetlight Ghosts” won Best Black and White Print, as well as being named Best in Show.
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