Exhibitioners from around the county submitted their hobby-crafts, baking, flowers, and a variety of other items for judging at the 27th Annual Lone Pine Bench Fair this past Wednesday, which was party to more than 50 entrants this year, said fair organizer Susan Page.ìWe have a lot of community support. At 7 o'clock, people just poured in. The hall was packed.îThere were 647 entries this year, about 40 entries less than last year's fair.ìThe vegetables just weren't ready. There were very few potatoes. It was very sparse,î said Page.ìBut we sure had a lot of baking. We had 109 entries, up from 73 last year.îPage laughs heartily, and gives the explanation for the seemingly renewed enthusiasm of baking entrants,ìYou know there were lots of specials on baking this year. We had 14 specials on baking alone.îThe specials to which Page refers are the sponsored prizes - $15 for first-place winners, and $10 for second. Considering each entry is a mere 30 cents, the payoff seems worth the gamble.Each larger category (photography, baking, horticulture, etc.) is host to a variety of sub-categories so each person has the opportunity to shine in their unique skill sets.Of the 39 adults and 15 juniors (ranging from 18 to six and under), this year's top entrant was 24-year-old Christina Boody of Didsbury, who entered 91 individual items into the fair ñ a staggering 14 per cent of the overall entries.ìI entered a few less than I normally do.îBoody said her crafts are worked on throughout the year, while baking is taken care of a couple of weeks in advance and frozen. Vegetables are picked the evening before, and flowers are selected and cut the morning of the fair.ìMy entries for vegetables were down quite a bit. A lot of things were about a week away from being ready.îThe Boody family typically sees entries from all of its members, and Christina said they've been partaking in the annual fair for about nine years.ìWe had just moved to this location about 10 years ago, and we had a neighbour who was entering (the fair). We entered a few things the first year, and really liked it, so it's just grown from there.îìIt's a lot of fun to begin with, but it sort of brings out your competitive side.îBoody took best of baking, and best overall for Mountain View photography.ìI have a lot of fun with the baking categories, because some of those areas are quite competitive. So it's always fun trying to find that perfect recipe.îìI did quite well I think, considering that it was fairly competitive this year.îThe 16 volunteers (four judges with three assistants apiece) busied themselves Wednesday morning, laying out and sorting the wide variety of entries, 511 in adult categories, and 136 juniors.Multi-talented, 18-year-old Carlie Marsh swept the teen art categories, taking first in six categories.Judges and volunteers were astounded by the lack of eraser marks on a complex sketch of a human hand Marsh drew, which are typically in evidence when held up to a light.One judge said she was impressed by the vast number of entries by preschool prodigy Rowan McCulloch, whose castle-building skills wowed judge Elsie Garcon.The castle was comprised entirely of various recyclable materials, complete with ice-cream cone spires, all spray-painted in pastel pinks and purples.ìShe's submitted so many things, her name is on just about everything,î said volunteer Jeanette Hunter.Over in the baking category, judge Bernice Price was hard at work examining a large batch of brownies placed in front of her.Her 30 plus years experience as a judge have given her sharp instincts as to what will likely win a prize.ìQuite often, the appearance matches the taste,î said Price, eying a set of three delectable brownies. ìThese ones are first, just by looking at them.îAfter tasting a sample portion from each submission, Price's prediction proved true, and Stephanie Rasmussen's brownies took first, while Darlene Wood's scooped second.Although organizer Page was able to land second place for her fudge, she said she feels the real prize is the bench fair's success.ìPulling it off is reward enough, believe me,î said Page.ìGoing in, you don't know who's coming. We don't pre-book anything. We don't know who's bringing what until the day of the fair, so it's a bit nerve-racking.î
