It’s Almost Here!
What’s almost here? This year’s chance to Show What You Grow at the annual Blackberry Faire, sponsored by the Denman Island Garden Society.
Who’s eligible to enter? Denman and Hornby Islanders of all ages.
When is it, and where? Sunday, September 6, at the Denman Community Hall and the ORCA.
What can you show? Just about anything you’ve grown: if there isn’t a category for your entry, judges can create one at their discretion. Choose from vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, harvest baskets, largest/weirdest vegetable, homemade preserves, and baking. Please refer to the Show What You Grow flyer for complete details. Prizes will be awarded in each category, and this year there will be a Grand Prize as well. Enter as many categories as you like, but all entries must be grown or hand-made by the entrant.
Kids 12 and under can submit entries in baking, flowers, decorated or special vegetable, and fall-themed art depicting a farm or garden in any medium, including three-dimensional. Spoiler alert: all kids’ entries are guaranteed a prize.
A hand-made scarecrow competition will be held in the ORCA, with winners decided by popular vote. (Ballots will be provided.) All scarecrows must free-standing, but there is no limit on size, materials used, or the number of creators for each. There’s still time, so raid the back of your closet and scour the Free Store for inspiration.
How do you go about it? Bring all your entries, including scarecrows, to the hall between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. on September 6. Vegetables, fruits and edibles will be placed on standardized plates (provided), but please bring your own containers for herbs and flowers. Each entry will be given a tag for your name, but the tag will then be sealed to make all entries anonymous until after the judging. Don’t forget to pick up your entries – and your prizes – between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m.!
Except for scarecrows, judges will score entries on several attributes, comparing the total against an ideal of 100 points. For fruits, tomatoes, preserves and baked goods, taste will account for about half the score.
Volunteers are still needed to help with setting up, receiving and organizing entries, judging, cleanup, and decorating the hall on Saturday afternoon. If you can help, or have fall-themed natural or hand-made decorations to share, please contact Shirley Ward at billandshirley.379@gmail.com.
