My turn: Fair entries half the fun

One of our oldest and best traditions kicks off next week: the Roosevelt County Fair.

Some folks toil practically year-round in preparation, raising livestock, stitching heirloom quilts, preserving fruits and vegetables, hand-polishing wooden crafts.

Then there are the rest of us.

This weekend ahead of the fair is when we procrastinators unearth the fair book, inventory the kitchen and craft supplies, and seek out the obscure competitions.

It's too late to grow beets (I consider this a blessing), but there's still time to crochet a potholder.

Do you have flour, sugar and eggs? There are 129 classes of baked goods. Add a mystery ingredient and you might qualify for an "other than above" category. That'll thin out your competitors.

No time for art lessons? Every experience level of the art show has a category for "Crayon/Magic Marker." Some of the finest masterpieces are drawn in cars on entry day.

Feeling crafty? I count 310 categories in adult crafts alone, although you have to be under 18 to vie for a blue ribbon in my favorite youth category: "article of Popsicle sticks."

Half of the fun of a county fair is seeing our friends and neighbors. The other half is seeing what they've entered.

We'd better get busy. It's fair time!

Some of Betty Williamson's best memories are from the Roosevelt County Fair. You may reach her at [email protected]