It's been many years since I've seen so many vegetable entries at the Unionville Community Fair (aka the Farm Show). The display table was jammed, and the peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, herbs and other garden produce looked spectacular. The judges for the competition were students in the Longwood Gardens professional gardener program, and they said they had fun and were delighted at the high quality of the entries.
Another category with standout entries was preserved foods: there were almost 60 entries, everything from pepper jelly to raspberries to grape juice. After tasting some of the spicy salsa entries, the judges were calling urgently for bottles of water!
Anne Nuse and I were the directors of the baked goods competition. Our judges, Randy, Al, and Elaine, had superhuman constitutions, as the judging took almost three sugar-packed hours. Best of show in the adult contest went to a round loaf of white bread with a chewy, beautifully browned crust. Judge Elaine declared that it could have come from a hallowed South Philadelphia bakery. In the youth contest, the top prize went to a spice muffin that the judges deemed superior to most of the adult entries.
I enjoyed seeing my Fair friends -- Terry, Anne, Dave, Debra, Karen, Berta, Bonnie, Ray, Martin, Danielle, and all the rest -- and thank goodness the weather was perfect and dry for a change.
I've been participating in the Fair for almost 30 years, and I'm so glad the community continues to support this 93-year-old event that hearkens back to the time when Unionville was a largely rural area.
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