Fair Home Arts Show seminar will help presenters prepare

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

For those who may not know what goes into growing the ideal flower, how to create the finest fairy garden, how to artfully grow the finest produce, or how to correctly can and present goods and more, hope is on the horizon.

The Holmes County Fair Home Arts Show will provide a seminar on March 16 at the fairgrounds that will provide insight into how to perfect a project for the fair, and the knowledge being dispensed will come from professional judges who understand the intricacies of creating a special project, whether it is food, plants or art.

The seminar will touch on every type of display that might be brought in for the Home Arts Show at the fair, and this event will feature advice from knowledgeable people who can help elevate anyone’s effort.

The Holmes County Fair Home Arts spring informational seminar will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at Harvest Ridge, and the information provided should be valuable for those who love to enter the annual contest.

“What we’re trying to do is equip those people who enter the Holmes County Fair Home Arts Show and give them some education so they can best prepare their displays more in tune with what the judges are looking for,” said Kim Kellogg, chairperson of the annual show.

The event will see several certified judges come to the fairgrounds to dispense their knowledge and take some of the guessing game out of a project.

“It can be a little intimidating when you don’t know exactly what the judges are looking for,” Kellogg said. “This event grew a lot last year, and we want to continue to help it expand, and what better way than to equip those who are presenting with as much great information as possible. It will also make for a much better show, and we’re excited to have our pros come in here and help us make our show better.”

The professionals will discuss topics like how long should a flower stem be and how many leaves should there be on it, what colors best accentuate a hanging basket or plant display, how many hostas should go into a display, what is the ideal way to present potted plants, how should baked goods be prepared and presented and so much more.

Kellogg also said there will be time for people to ask questions.

“The nice thing about this show is that they will cover every possible aspect our presenters might want to hear about,” Kellogg said. “From gourds and tomato plants to hanging baskets and everything else, they’ll talk about what the people want to talk about and help them gain some great insight into how they can best prepare their entries.”

In addition to that event, Holmes Soil & Water Conservation District members will be on hand from 11 a.m. to noon to develop pollinator gardens around the fairgrounds on land that would be otherwise unusable.

The SWCD has already been creating these pollinator gardens around the county and invites others to join them in this increasingly important project.

Kellogg said the SWCD is currently getting the unmanageable areas around the fairgrounds burned down and prepped for the event.

“It’s a two- or three-year process, but it is going to enhance the fairgrounds and be great for our area,” Kellogg said.

Holmes SWCD program administrator Trevor Berger will head that session up and will share with the attending group the important role these pollinator gardens serve in benefiting the area.

“SWCD has been so involved with our community, and they do a wonderful job, and we are excited to be able to team up with them for this new event,” Kellogg said. “It should be a really fun and informative day, and we invite everyone interested in learning more about how to best create projects for the Home Arts Show to join us for this event.”

The show is free to attend, and no registration is necessary.