The County Fair 2026

This is my second year entering my local county fair! The Howard County, Maryland fair is celebrating 80 years in 2026. Since I grew up in this area, I've attended the fair for a lot of years, but only recently joined in the entries.

Last year, I entered three paintings, and won blue ribbons on all of them, plus two champion ribbons, and a Best in Show! 

This year, partly inspired by seeing the variety of categories of the fair, my personal challenge to myself was to complete artworks in as many media as possible. After years of painting about 100 acrylic paintings every year, this year I pulled out my old oil paints, watercolor, and pastels. As a result, I had many pieces ready to enter the fair.

Five acrylic paintings, two watercolors, two pastel paintings, and an oil painting make up my fair entries this year.

In addition, I entered new (to me) categories in sewing.

As one of my kids said, competing in the fair makes it even more fun than just visiting. I love the tradition of the county fair. Entering my pieces makes me feel part of the local art community, something that is sometimes lacking in my practice as I sell mostly online. And as a history lover, I like to follow in the footsteps of many generations of women and men who have done the same.

I'll find out when I visit the fair later in the month whether I won any ribbons. Wish me luck!