Published: September 03, 2008 11:47 pm         

Food entries begin to trickle in as county fair opens

Garfield County Fairgrounds became an active place Wednesday as entries for the fair started coming in.

Carol Bosey, in charge of canning, said there is a variety of food entries.

“We have a lot of different things: dill pickles, sweet pickles, meat, vegetables, fruits and dried fruits,” she said.

This year, gift baskets have been added as a new category to the canning division.

“They are three jars of whatever you want,” Bosey said.

Lions Club members will offer free diabetes screening again this year, said Don Ahoo.

“Two-hundred to 300 people will probably come through. People who have come through before often come through looking for us again,” he said.

Allen Spencer, horticulture, said entries look good this year.

“We’ve got a lot of different vegetables that show up. So far, the entries look pretty good,” said Spencer.

Entries include pumpkins, watermelons, cucumbers, beans, beets, cantaloupe, egg plants, potatoes, peppers, okra, zucchini, tomatoes, pecans, apples and pears.

Eleanor Smith, quilts, said the entries are quite diverse.

“There is a real variety of quilts. There are miniature quilts to real large quilts,” she said. “Some are hand done, some are machine done. Some people have designed themselves.”

Smith said there are about 33 entries in the quilt division.

Garfield County Fair really gets going today as judging begins this morning. Commercial booths will open at Chisholm Trail Expo Center at noon. The chocolate dessert contest will be 7 p.m., and Wagner Carnival will open on the midway.

On Friday, events begin with swine judging. Other highlights of the day include a pie-baking contest.

On Saturday, the livestock judging will begin with beef, followed by the sheep and goat shows. The horse show follows at 9 a.m.

Contests for the day include a bubble gum blowing contest, Oklahoma WheatHeart bread baking contest and an ice cream contest. Frog and turtle races are scheduled for the evening.

The Farmer for a Day exhibit will be available throughout the fair, Thursday through Saturday. The popular exhibit allows children to see live animals, milk a pretend cow and learn about farming.

Fair activities will wrap up Monday with more 4-H and FFA livestock and crops judging. The premium sale will be at 7 p.m.